


Tripath Converge

by Fictaflare



Category: DCU, Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: 3 Main Protagonists, Alternate Universe, Coincides with My Hero Academia Events, Danganronpa Spoilers, Follows it's own story, OC Focused for one of those Perspectives, Switchs Perspectives A Lot, combined universes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-27
Updated: 2019-06-17
Packaged: 2019-06-23 01:59:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 55,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15595719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fictaflare/pseuds/Fictaflare
Summary: Aaron Wolf is known to Gotham as "Kid Col", the boy thief that has alluded capture from Batman for years. If the world's greatest detective can't find him, who will? His latest steal comes from an unexpecting tourist in Gotham.Kyoka Jiro has had a love for music and an admiration for heroes all her life. Her greatest challenge awaits her yet as she wants to attend U.A. High School to combine both aspects in her life.Shuichi Saihara didn't plan to become the Ultimate Detective, but now he is enrolled at Hope's Peak Academy along with other very talented people. His second year is about to begin and his reputation has been giving him case after case.These stories shall intertwine along with the multitude of other characters that come into this shared universe.This is Tripath Converge.





	1. Thief Path: Unexpected Treasure

**Author's Note:**

> Hi guys, FictaFlare here,  
> First of all, thanks for checking out my work! It's my first fanfic so please try to bear with me! I'll do what I can to represent the characters, but keep in mind I'll also be using my own headcanons.  
> Secondly, it does include spoilers for Dangonronpa 1, 2, 3, and possibly V3, all of which are all phenomenal stories, and I highly recommend you play and watch them.  
> Thirdly, this will coincide with events from My Hero Academia, up to my limited knowledge from the anime. I know, I know, but I too want to enjoy that amazing show at the pace it releases.  
> Lastly, I'll be utilizing my own version of the DCU, mainly inspired by the recent Rebirth saga in comics.  
> Enjoy!

**Aaron**

It was a beautiful night outside. Lights were glowing. Rain was drizzling. On days like those, kids like me... should’ve been rotting in juvie.

Luckily I wasn’t. I happen to be a _good_ thief, not like those knockoffs who rob liquor stores and gas stations. I actually have a really decent sleight of hand. Enough to steal candy from a baby. And that’s how to really test it too. If they cry you lose, but if you successfully take it without them noticing, you win!

Anyhow, at the moment I was on a rooftop above Gotham’s debatably best “restaurant”, Batburger. I was scanning for new tourists who seemed a bit too thrilled to check out Gotham’s increasingly expanding fast-food chain. If I’m being honest it was poor timing on my part because the rain dissuaded many from entering the store, locals and visitors alike. I didn’t mind really, I was just passing time; the bigger heists always require more effort so this was much more laid back.

Fortunately, there was one guy who caught my attention; he had light green hair and looked to be roughly my age. You’d have to be a little crazy to cosplay as Joker, but it didn’t seem like that was the case. I quickly parkoured down to a nearby alley and made my way over to get a closer look.

“Oh wow, a Kid Col costume! I haven’t seen one of those in while!” the friendly clerk dressed as Batgirl commented as I entered the flashy building.

“Thanks! I do my best the replicate the real deal.” I replied.

That’s right. A black hoody mixed with a striped red & white t-shirt is my usual attire when representing my “criminal self”. My shaggy hair, however, is what sticks out. Pure white, like snow, except for a black streak curving from the top of my head to the right. It’s much like the crescent moon. What no one knows is it that it’s actually my natural hair color. My red mask, inspired by the boy wonder himself, conceals my secret identity as Aaron Wolf, who dyes his hair.

“Well no stealing in here mister!” she said jokingly.

“Don’t worry, I haven’t been caught yet!” I said.

Being inside allowed me to see the green-haired boy up close and personal. He was staring at the menu, contemplating what to get. He was wearing a blue-gray striped shirt emblazoned with a huge compass. His ears had multiple piercings and he wore plenty of wristbands. Definitely not a Joker costume, he’s probably a tourist.

It was just my luck.

“I’ll take eighteen of your Bat-Mite Meals.” He told the clerk.

“E-eighteen sir?!” she sounded shocked. I couldn’t blame her.

“Yeah, that’s right. Though can I only get one actual meal? I’ll cover the price for the rest of the toys.”

A tourist and he’s loaded! This will be good. I didn’t expect this night to pay off so well!

“Sure… would you want your fries jokerized?” she asked after composing herself.

“No thank you. I’m not fond of villains.”

“Oh, okay. Here’s your total.”

He proceeded to pay with cash. Cash. The physical manifestation of currency was just there for the taking. Oh my. What a catch!

As he turned around to find his seat, he faced me. I made my move by approaching him and placing my hand on his shoulder. He looked a bit uneasy but was also composed. He’s been through this type of scenario before. Good. I like a challenge.

“Now look here,” I started to say, “You may be new to Gotham. But I can’t stress enough how dangerous it is to have green hair here. It attracts attention in the worst of ways. And I like you tourists. And people my age. You bring good business and vibes to a broken city. So watch your back around here.” I meant it with all my heart.

I also replaced his wallet with a makeshift one of my own. My other hand moved fast but transparent. Sometimes I scare myself how ghostlike I can be. It was so habitual, so ritualistic that it _felt right._ Isn’t utilizing your quirk so supposed to be that way?

He glared at me. “I do it all the time. Gotham isn’t anything new.”

Wallet secure. Finish the act. “Well… that’s reassuring.” I said, taking my hand off his shoulder. “Take care, umm… what’s your name?”

“None of your business.” He pushed past me towards a booth. I certainly soured his mood. It’ll get more bitter later when he realizes I took his belongings.

“How about you master thief? What can I get you to eat?” said the Batgirl cosplay.

“I’ll take the Riddle-Me-Fish combo to go please,” I said.

“Would you like those fries to be jokerized?” she asked yet again.

“Always!”

“Great! Here’s your total.”

I smirked as I paid, opening up a wallet not my own.

 

* * *

 

Outside across the street, I saw through Batburger’s large open windows the green-haired kid start to panic as he realized that he’s been robbed. The employees were fawning over the fact that they indeed just encountered the real Kid Col. Police, or worse, Batman would be coming soon; I’d best make my way on home.

 

* * *

 

I slipped in through the window of an abandoned orphanage attic, it’s the place I’ve lived my childhood at. I don’t come here too often though. A renowned thief can’t stay in one place for too long, lest they want to be captured. That, and this place brought memories back too, ones I’ll always try to force down. The orphanage shared love and kindness; it had enough to take in a newborn child. Despite that sixteen years ago, the year I was born, the biggest, most awful, most tragic event in human history occurred. Even with that, despite that _despair_ , I was offered a home and a place to grow up. It’s a shame its funding was canceled.

I took in a deep breath. The air was musty and smelled like rotting wood. A crow was cawing in a nest it made in the corner of the room. I sighed as I closed the window down, locking it in place. My couch, tattered with holes, sat upon the trapdoor that leads to the building’s third floor. I pushed it back slightly so I could see the door; the paper was still wedged in between the crack. No one’s been in here. I’m all clear.

But if Batman was here, despite any precaution on my part, he’d probably surprise me anyway…

I collapsed on the worn couch that would act as my bed for the night, nabbed the remote, and turned on the boxed, aged television that was three feet away.

“And in other news, Japan’s All Might declined yet again to join the Justice League stating, ‘Should the need arise, I will certainly assist them.’ He didn’t provide any further details.”

All Might. That’s right, I’ve heard of the guy. Rumors have it he can compete with Superman physically, possibly be even stronger. Eight years ago, he proved his speed in a race against the Flash as well. I have my suspicions that they tied on purpose though. In Japan, they’re calling him “the Symbol of Peace”. It’s a title well deserved, he keeps up with the level of the Justice League for only being a quirk user.

Ever since the Tragedy quirks have been rendered more and more obsolete and incomparable to the rise and discovery of metahumans, Atlantians, and heck even aliens. The biggest change, one can say, was Batman here in Gotham with him being a powerless yet efficient hero. Most of that change has been centralized in America, hence why the U.S. stopped using the Hero program in favor of supporting their police departments 7 years back. It was a controversial decision, but most citizens favored less quirk usage and more vigilantism. Now in the present culture quirks are frowned upon and highly restricted. In the U.S. it's even easy to forget they exist. Makes me feel sad for all those mutants. They can barely live a normal life here. Most have left the country for other places.

I browsed more of the news, slowing finishing my Batburger meal. Captain Cold foiled by the Flash yet again. Aquaman proves Black Manta was responsible for the attack on California. A new dynamic duo appears, Superboy and Robin! Nightwing moves to Blüdhaven?

As more stories passed on by, I started to become fairly bored. I opened up the wallet I stole earlier. It was time to explore more of the contents. Looking past the ridiculous amount of money I saw a picture of a young girl. She had the same color hair as him and had a bright smile. Wait. There’s more. One, two… Eleven more pictures?! All of them were of girls, all varied in their appearances and ages. What could that possibly mean?

Past all that I noticed a student I.D. The name shown was Rantaro Amami. The school and his title listed, however, were the real prizes. He goes to Hope’s Peak Academy and is the Ultimate Adventurer.

I chuckled. Even quirk heroes and the Justice League pale in comparison to the headmaster of that school. Makato Naegi saved the world. He showed us all that hope can still be found even in the most horrific of scenarios. Because of that, he lit a fire among all good-willed people on Earth who fought back to rebuild this world. His hope kept humanity going.

And I just stole from one of his students.

Oops.

Guess I'll have to tread carefully these next couple of weeks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, thanks for taking the time to read my work! I hope I have you intrigued. 
> 
> If you're wondering about my release pattern, I honestly have no idea as of now, especially since school is starting up. With hope in mind, maybe weekly? You can expect around 1500-2500 words per chapter.
> 
> Also huge call out to RoarOfTheLion and his work at  
> [https://archiveofourown.org/works/15013985/chapters/34803059 ](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15013985/chapters/34803059)  
> His/her work also combines the universes of Dangonronpa and My Hero and is really, really well done. Give them all the love and kudos!
> 
> I'll also be doing these things I'll be calling "Author Notes". This just shows tidbits of my thoughts on the chapters.
> 
> Author Notes:  
> Aaron Wolf is an original character I've had in mind for a while now. He isn't exactly DC, but rather different creation altogether, one that only fits in the universe of this fanfiction. That's all I'm willing to say about him for now... Batburger is an actual comic fast-food place in recent comics. It comes specifically from Batman issue #16. Bat-mite meals and Riddle-Me Fish come from that issue as well. I, uhh, was kinda hungry when I finished writing Kid Col's robbery. Fun Fact: Jason Todd likes his fries jokerized!


	2. Hero Path: Concert and Family Issues

**Kyoka**

Twirling my earplug I waited for the for the show to start. My parents forced me to attend the Variety Concert, as a way to send me off tomorrow to my entrance exam at U.A. High School. Not that I mind too much; I love music. They’re also performing, so it’d be nice to support them. I didn’t have front row seats that night, which was a rare occurrence for me, but I was content with the second row. After all, even though Mom and Dad are popular, there were other leading musicians from all sorts of genres performing tonight. The theater was packed full of people, but interestingly enough, the reserved seat next to me was still empty. Mom and Dad got only me a special ticket, so that spot must have been gifted from one of the other artists.

I like music a lot, but punk rock is my jam. So naturally, I had reservations about some of the other artists and performers. But none came closer to controversy than the opening artist and host.

“Heeeeey y'all! It's Ibuki Miodaaaaaa! Thanks for coming out today! I’m sooo stoked we get to perform today! Now without further ado, let’s hear some music!” Soon after, her performance started and the cringe was too real.

Ibuki Mioda, despite her older age, was still able to let out the most gut-wrenching, atrocious screams any serious heavy metal singer should put out. I’d reckon about a third of the audience was knocked out due to how unprepared they were to listen to her. From experience, you usually recover in a minute or so. I held my own, bearing through her performance. Despite my misgivings about her, I had mad respect for her talent. She is without a doubt, the most skilled artist in heavy metal. She is after all, the Ultimate Musician.

Aside from her, uhh, _particular_ taste in music, Ibuki was mainly controversial because of her past. Many people still haven’t forgiven the Remnants of Despair and the destruction they caused 14-16 years ago. But before me, I saw a musician brimming with energy and drive. She gave the same sort of smile a hero would, one that would say “I’m redeemed!” She, like her friends, embraced a new future, and the world, in turn, had decided to embrace them. Part of me envied how outgoing she was.

Within minutes and continuous death screams, Ibuki Mioda finished her show. “Wow, what a time! Thank youuu for having me!” she flicked her multi-colored dyed hair and proceeded to speak to the crowd. “But I’m not the only one here today! Give it up for our leaders in rap! The Hypnotists!”

She left the stage, giving breathing room for both the crowd and the other guest stars. The Hypnotists performed okay, but I sensed that their unease after Mioda affected their abilty. After them, many other bands, all of different types of music performed. There was blues, pop, hip-hop, electronic, jazz, and even some dubstep in that big theater. Finally the time came for Mom and Dad the enter onto the stage.

Mom is undoubtedly the more well-known musician; it’s the reason why Dad took on her last name Jiro. She decided to rock the guitar tonight, and Dad was doing both vocals and keyboard. They’re both accustomed to many instruments, but their real strength lies with the ability to synchronize well with each other no matter what part they’re playing. Their popularity went from just being the famed Mika Jiro to the “Amazing Jiro Couple”.

The crowd, myself included, was really warming up to their performance. I could tell they were giving it their all for me. I’d never tell Dad, but I really appreciated it. The exam tomorrow is bound to be difficult, but with this type of encouragement, _I will_ become a U.A. student.

“Watch it!”

"Hey kid, move it! I’m trying to watch the Jiro couple!”

It seemed there was a commotion to my right. Someone wearing a white hoodie was really late to the show, and they were squeezing by other members of the audience. Including myself. Annoyed as he was passing me, I used my earplugs to pull his hood down. If you’re gonna be this late, at least show your face!

I didn’t expect the surprise that followed soon after. As he stood in front of the reserved seat, he gave me that sly grin he always gives. That goofy, pale face of his that was so irritating, and so unpredictable.

“Tee hee! You found me dear sister! You’ve foiled my disguise!” It was my older brother. The Ultimate Supreme Leader himself.

“Ko-Kokichi!” I said back to my brother, “What are you doing here?”

“Kyoka, I’m here to see Mom and Dad of course! What little son doesn’t love his parent’s performance!!” Kokichi said this while finishing off with those fake tears of his. He probably partially spoke the truth, but like usual, he’s hiding something else.

While revving up a guitar solo, Mom was also shocked when she noticed her son, but she recovered quickly due to Dad’s support from the keyboard. The drummer also noticed the change and slightly pushed the rhythm faster to keep the song going strong. There was worry in my parents’ eyes, but also a deep happiness. It’s been _ages_ since Kokichi attended one of their concerts. It’s also been a long time since we’ve even all been together.

Three years ago my brother left the family household; he told us all he was going “to follow his dreams” and “one day rule the world”. Then last year we get a letter in the mail saying that Kokichi Oma has been accepted to Hope’s Peak Academy as the Ultimate Supreme Leader. He took on Dad’s original last name. Although shocking, my parents were thrilled. Their son was attending the most prestigious school after all. And although his path is one similar to that of a villain, he’ll always be a trickster at heart. It’s why my parents still love him, and support him. It’s one of my reasons I’m going to become a hero. I’ll play the part and beat him at his game. Because as well as the Jiro couple synchronize, the Jiro siblings, on the other hand, are destined to compete for glory.

“Kokichi, I haven’t seen you in _years_ , but now you show up?! What’s the deal wit-”

“Kyokaaa! Hush now! I’m trying to listen!” He interrupted and gave me one of those childish pouts. He hasn’t changed in the slightest.

After that song, my Dad began to speak, “This concert means a lot to me and Mika. Tomorrows a big day for my little girl, so this one’s for you Kyoka. Go get them! Kokichi… thanks for showing up.”

Flustered, I clenched my fists and looked down. _Dad! You can’t just spout that to the whole audience!_ My earlobes danced in embarrassment. Regardless of how I felt, the crowd cheered for me as Mom and Dad performed my favorite song of theirs, “Robber in Spotlight”. It’s also Kokichi’s favorite. They did it perfectly too. I felt tears rise up, but I didn’t dare let them loose. Especially since Kokichi was there. I’d never hear the end of it from him. That’s if he sticks around…

“Well that was absolutely wonderful,” my Mom said to the crowd, shining with happiness.

“But there’s one more performer left to showcase her talent,” Dad continued, “Let’s hear a big cheer for Kaede Akamatsu! The Ultimate Pianist!”

Suddenly it all clicked. The reserved seat. Why my brother was here. He wasn’t here for us! He was here to see his classmate! It was just coincidence that they happened to be performing at the same concert. I was not happy to say the least.

The crowd did indeed cheer for her. She was a blond with music note hair pins strewn across and wore a faded pink vest accompanied with a red tie. She was quite formal looking. She sat at the very fine-looking piano that’s been sitting there all night long and waited for the crowd to silence. Unlike most performers who wanted to hype crowd with them, her presence demanded attention, but it did so in a calming manner, as if she wanted to share something special. I could start to hear my breathing. She pressed one key, its vibrations echoed throughout the now dead quiet space. And then the magic happened.

Normally I dislike classical. It’s so dreadfully boring and overdone. But her. If there were any music gods, she was a goddess. It was the same listening to Mioda. It was talent, raw and pure. So this is what it means to be an Ultimate. To be the absolute best at something. I looked over at my brother, and he smirked back at me. He was gloating. Over the fact that he’s an Ultimate and I’m not. Kaede Akamatsu’s performance was a testament to the talented youth that Hope’s Peak Academy handpicked, not the least of those being Kokichi.

Kaede wasn’t done though. She still had one more song to showcase. Although it wasn’t classical, it was filled to the brim with emotion, almost tragic sounding. Any thoughts of my stupid brother or even my own worries drifted away as I felt utterly captivated and focused solely on her performance. And then it was over. She took a stand and bowed to the audience. Everyone was clapping and talking about it. She, among all the bands, stole the spotlight.

As the crowd began to disperse, Kokichi, too, tried to slip away like the snake he always is.

“Oh no you don’t,” I said as I extended my earlobes which wrapped around his body, “You don’t get to walk away from us, not this easily!”

“No fair Kyoka! You know I’m quirkless!” he responded.

“Whatever! You got some explaining for us.”

“Hmmm, weell I could tell you I lead an evil secret organization that has over 10,000 members. But that could be a lie!”

I slapped him across the back of his head with one of my earplugs.

“Oww, what was that for!”

“Save the nonsense for Mom and Dad!” Honestly, can’t he just grow up?!

 

* * *

 

Back at home, I could tell the environment was very unsettled. Dad was loud, like usual, and Mom was simply worried. All the attention was on Kokichi, and he didn’t say anything about what he's been up to. I escaped to my room to flee from his ramblings. After all, I needed to focus. U.A. is no easy school to get into. My quirk is versatile, but it lacked any serious attacking power. I’d have to rely solely on using my earphone jacks as whips. But I don’t even know what the exam is…

I heard my door knock, “Sweetie,” my Mom said, “Kokichi will be staying with us for some time.” She paused, “Try to get along, okay?”

“Yeah Mom, I hear you.” I smiled back at her. I’m glad I’m not the only one in this family who’s keeping the peace and sanity.

She left and closed the door behind her. Not even a minute later my brother bursts in.

“Kyokaa! How’s my wonderful little sister doing?”

“Chill out Kokichi. And stop calling me that. You’re not even taller than me.”

“Nuh uhhh. Seee?” He waves his hand across both of our purple haired heads.

I sighed, “Okaay. Maybe you’re a _bit_ taller, but that’s not impressive.”

Regardless of how annoying Kokichi is, I, like my parents, was happy to have him back home. I missed this playful banter. I missed my brother.

“I’ll ask you again, y’know.” Kokichi said, his demeanor changed a bit more serious.

“Ask what?”

“Join me Kyoka! Join my secret organization.”

“No thanks.”

“Wow, that was a quick response!” he said, looking at his fingernails, “But I expected as much. You’re gonna become a hero right? There’s no way you’d join a supreme leader and his evil organization. Even if it’s your older brother.”

“Duh.” I said back to him.

“Well I guess that means we’ll be each other’s arch nemesis then.” He looked at me. His face was beaming. He was genuinely satisfied.

“Yeah. It does.” I smiled back at him. This rivalry we have with each other, it’s what connects us. It drives us both towards our dream. It’s as he said too. I’m going to become a hero. It’s the path I chose.

“Oh and I almost forgot!” Kokichi ran out of my room and came back with a pair of black boots. “These are for you!”

“Okaay… Why do I need another pair of shoes though?”

“C’mooon Kyoka,” he pouted again, “They’re for your quirk! They’re speaker boots!”

Suddenly the importance of this item came into light. “You mean I can-”

“Yup! Enter your earphones into them and you can project your heartbeats like a big sonic attack! Don’t worry, these guys are tested and sturdy!” he explained. “Oh and they’ve already been approved by U.A. so you can use them in your exam tomorrow!”

“Really?! Kokichi! Wow, this is awesome! How’d you even manage all this!” Why bother to hide my excitement at this point? This was rad!

“Tee hee, a supreme leader never divulges his secrets!”

How could I forget! My brother’s a genius. Of course he’s been keeping tabs on me. That whole act at the Variety Concert was just his dramatic way of showing up to my family. He wasn’t really there for Kaede. That too was an act. He was, in actuality, there to support me! Goodness, if only he had the guts to show up normally to us! He always makes things more complicated than they have to!

“Ugh, you’re such a jerk!” I said. I also hugged him in a big embrace, jumping up and down with enthusiasm.

“Hey! Rude. Is that any that way to thank your big brother for all the hard work he’s done?”

It didn’t matter though, I was already down the hallway running towards my parents. “Mom! Check out what Kokichi got me!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, hope you're enjoying my work! Next time you can expect Shuichi to take the spotlight.  
> Author's Notes:  
> This chapter was a bit longer than what I suspected. Nevertheless, I really had a fun time writing it! I was looking forward to introducing Kyoka, and in turn Kokichi too! Their dynamic is something I look forward to keep expanding on!  
> If you're curious about the songs performed, I'll ultimately leave it to imagination, but in my mind, Kaede's second song is this: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92Dp2R2DlgQ.> I feel as if her character would enjoy the music game Deemo, and in turn, master the actual songs.


	3. Detective Path: Another Big Case

**Shuichi**

Today’s the big day. I waved goodbye to my best friend as he was going to embark on his first odyssey. Clad in thick white gear Kaito Momota simply gave me a big thumbs up. He grinned like crazy too. He’s been prepared to enter space for a long time, and being chosen as the Ultimate Astronaut only sped up the process. His current journey was destined to the space station known as the S.S. Gofer orbiting the Earth. It’s a project directly linked to the Future Foundation, the heralds who drove the Remnants of Despair into a corner.

Later I found myself looking upon his spaceship from a safe distance away. Journalists were all around. He was the first person at his age to travel to space all by himself. The Luminary of the Stars was destined to do this after all.

“Ten.”

It’s starting. He’ll be away for the rest of the school year.

“Nine.”

“Eight.”

“Seven.”

Something wasn’t right… with the air? No is it the light?

“Six.”

It was both. The sky was becoming a deep red. I think there’s something in the distance…

“Five.”

It was getting closer.

“Four.”

No. NO. It can’t be!

“Three.”

But it was. There was a multitude of meteorites heading towards the Earth. More specifically there was one closing in towards the launch site. Where Kaito was.

“Two.”

“Abort! Stop!” I said as I rushed forward, grasping the chained fence which blocks anyone from getting too close to where the spaceship was located. “Kaito!”

“One”

There was no use. I felt the temperature get hotter. The meteorite was massive now.

“Liftoff.”

“STOP!” I yelled at the top of my lungs. I didn’t hear my own voice though. The sound of the meteorite approaching and spaceship firing off was all I could hear. It started to ascend, blowing fumes and exhaust at the ground below it. It rose and rose higher. It gained speed.

It collided with the huge chunk of rock. The ship split in half and plummeted back to the Earth from whence it came.

“KAITO!!”

 

* * *

 

“Aaah!” I woke up in a startled manner. I was sitting down at my cluttered desk in my room. I must’ve been working on a case so late into the night that I fell asleep. Papers were stacked high next to me. The dim lamp illuminated just enough to see the different case files. Drool oozed from my mouth.

I had a nightmare. Kaito is fine. He’s fine. The spaceship never hit the meteorites. They never even hit the Earth. Half a year ago, the Justice League came and saved the day. Batman had a plan to perfectly protect the world should any come unexpected. Superman punched them away and the Green Lanterns kept any debris from hitting anyone. Kaito reversed the controls and descended back to Earth. His big trip was canceled, but at least he’s safe.

He’s safe. It’s okay.

I gritted my teeth. A detective shouldn’t let his mind wander. Especially towards dramatic lies such as that. Even nightmares have the ability to distort the truth. Even after a year at Hope’s Peak, I still struggle embracing it. The truth. Ever since the case that began all this…

I sighed and wiped the drool away. I checked the time on my phone: 3AM. Oh! There’s a text from Rantaro as well. It was sent at 940PM yesterday evening. I must’ve not noticed it while working on my cases.

After sliding it open, the full text read as, “Hey Shuichi, I know you’re real busy, but can you do me a favor? I’m currently in Gotham, and I need as much info as possible on the criminal known as Kid Col. He’s a prominent thief here. I know it’s a shot in the dark, but maybe you can find something.”

A shot in the dark is an understatement. He’s not only countries away, but it’s in the city of Gotham. Criminals have a way of staying hidden there. Eventually Batman takes care of them, but finding them sooner always takes more work. But I can’t deny a classmate, even one such as Rantaro, whom I rarely see because of his travels. Come to think about it, this is the first time he’s ever asked for help. Usually he’s the one who brings the rest of us gifts.

“I’ll probably not have much luck, but I’ll look into it.” I texted back.

Pulling out the laptop Miu, the Ultimate Inventor, made for me, I started looking into this Kid Col. Luckily for me, I have certain access to Future Foundation files due to their connection to Hope’s Peak Academy and my affiliation as the Ultimate Detective.

Interesting. He’s young and has never committed major crimes such as murder or rape. He doesn’t even specialize in fraud. It’s solely theft and robbery. Sometimes it’s public, other times it is covertly done. Oh… he’s never been caught. Batman has had several encounters with him but hasn’t succeeded in taking him in. He’s always slipped away.

Even Batman hasn’t captured him? Is that possible?

Those were the general files on him. Wait, there was one more folder pertaining to Kid Col. Looking closer it was labeled as-

My door quickly opened and I heard, “Shuichi. Good, you’re up.” It was my Uncle Shinji Saihara, the owner of this household and detective agency. He’s also my first mentor.

“Uncle Shinji, I was just finishing some-”

“Forget all that kid, I’ll take care of them later. I got a bigger case for you.” He tossed my hat at me. “Wear that if it helps you focus.”

“I’m actually trying to not wear it lately…” I responded, setting the black cap on my desk.

“Really? Huh, and I’ve always thought you looked kinda cool with it on… Anyhow, my pal Detective Tsukauchi called. A crime occurred, and he’s enlisting our help at the scene. Well more of your help. You’ve only gotten better since you came back from Hope’s Peak.”

“Don’t sell yourself short…” I said.

“Ha! Thanks kid,” he said, stroking his goatee, “But this is a serious one. A hero was murdered. I need your Ultimate skills to be on an all-time high tonight.”

“Right.” Another murder case. That’s the third one this school break for me. And a hero no less.

He left my room, leaving me to gather my belongings. Which didn’t take long considering I have all that I need in my messenger bag: Miu’s laptop, a specialized tablet to take notes in, a magnifying glass, and snacks to keep me awake. Protein bars somehow always do the trick.

After nabbing all that and putting my shoes on, I looked back at my hat on the desk. Its star pin and stripe pattern glimmered faintly under the lamplight. My uncle’s right. It does help me focus.

“You ready to get going?” my uncle said to me as we hopped into his pale gray sedan.

I tipped forward the black trim of my hat and said, “Ready as I’ll ever be.”

 

* * *

 

The scene was located in a concrete parking complex. Upon pulling in I noticed a couple of police cars as well as caution tape surrounding the area. A man wearing a tan trench coat approached us as we exited the aging car.

“Shinji, I’m glad you were able to make it here on good time,” he said.

“You know me, I’d rather not be here at all, Naomasa. Things like this just kill my mood.” said my uncle.

“You’re as motivated as ever I see. And you must be Shuichi. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you Ultimate Detective.”

“Pleasure’s all mine… Can I ask what’s going on? A hero was killed?” I asked.

“Sadly, yes, that’s correct. I called you two here to have you investigate the scene. Separately though. I need more than one viewpoint on this. If both of you can confirm my suspicions it would be a tremendous help.”

I’ve heard of this technique. Typically investigations require all information to be shared to reveal the truth. But good detectives can do that on their own; so when others reveal the same facts, it adds layers of confirmation and authenticity to their original thoughts. I’ve helped out my uncle several times with this methodology.

“I’ll go first kid. Get this over with.” Uncle Shinji then went under the yellow tape that was wrapped around the pillars of this parking garage.

“Detective Tsukauchi was it?”

“Yes?”

“Can I ask about the victim? I don’t work closely with heroes as of yet.”

“Of course. The hero was known as ‘Lookout’. His full name was Masuru Toda. He was a new pro hero who specialized in scouting. His quirk enabled him to see and detect things farther and faster than what the normal human eye can do. Other than that, he was fairly normal.”

“I see. Thanks.”

I took my tablet out and created a new notes page. _Victim’s Quirk._

After some time passed, and a nice serving of a protein bar, my uncle came back, “Alright, I know what happened here. Not surprised though. Shuichi, you’re up bud.”

Okay. It’s time to do this. I walked under the police tape, using my hand to push it upward. The police car blocked the view, but a couple steps around it unveiled the murder scene.

Investigation Start!

Several things caught my eye at once, but the biggest of all those was an SUV that crashed into the wall of the parking structure. The car appeared to have descended down from an upper level. Its front was completely totaled and its engine was no longer operational. However, that’s as far as the damage went, and the windshields were left unscathed. _SUV and Crash Damage._

The driver side window, on the other hand, was completely shattered, and the door of the SUV was open all the way. _Open Door & Shattered Window._

Of course, I noticed the body as well. The victim looked like the hero Tsukauchi mentioned, he wore bright red goggles and had on a yellow coat. More importantly, the body of Lookout was still seated in the driver’s side of the car. Did the crash knock him out? No… it’s too soon to know for certain. _Victim’s Location._

It was easy to see why it was called a murder, the victim had a stab wound from the side of his chest to what was left of his heart. The victim would have died instantly, or very quickly from this injury. Blood was all around his coat and the driver’s seat. It was also around the floor of the parking lot beside the SUV. Once again, with stylus in hand, I wrote down some more clues. _Stab Wound. Blood Locations._

Hmm… wait what’s that? I looked closer at his hand and saw yet another wound, a thin hole through the palm. It looked like another stab wound. I wasn’t sure what to make of it, but why not write it down anyway? _Hand Injury._

It seemed those were the only injuries on this man. But before I left his body, I noticed that his foot was still on the gas pedal. Odd. He didn’t try to brake? I walked to the back of the SUV to confirm my thoughts and sure enough, there were no tire marks. _Victim didn’t use the Brakes._

Speaking of tires, despite the damage to the front of the car, they were completely untouched. After looking over each of the four tires, I determined that there were no punctures or slashes across them. The air was still trapped within the black rubbery tubes. _Untouched Tires._

That was all that there was to this area, but there was still something I wanted to check out. I went up one level of the parking structure, and sure enough, I saw a little amount of blood, though not nearly as much as the amount below. Four feet away, on the ground, was a dagger. More specifically it was a throwing knife. The edge was covered in blood. _Bloodied Throwing Knife._

That can’t be the murder weapon, can it? I wasn’t satisfied with that conclusion; I needed to check out one more thing. I pulled my magnifying glass from my trusted messenger bag and looked at the knife with finer detail. Uncle Shinji always pokes a little fun at me for being old-fashioned with it, but it hasn’t let me down before.

Yes! I was right! The dagger at first glance seemed to be just that, a dagger, but having the ability to see closer showed me that it was just barely coated in a purple substance. I wrote in my tablet my last entry. _Poison Coating._

I believe now, like my uncle, I too have figured out what occurred.

I walked back down to where he and Tsukauchi were. They just wrapped up their discussion and were nodding their heads in approval. It seemed that they both reached the exact consensus on this case. Now let’s see if I can do the same.

“So Shuichi, what do you think happened, kid?” Uncle Shinji asked.

“Tell us in the order of events that occurred, please.” Tsukauchi said.

“Yes. I’ll do just that. The victim’s name is Masuru Toda,” I started to say, “Otherwise known as the scouting hero ‘Lookout.’ I believe he likely first encountered the culprit in the floor above us. Because of _his quirk_ , he must have avoided a deathblow that would of harmed him gravely. Instead, he received a _wound on his hand_. This wound came from the _throwing knife_ that was located up there.”

“Lookout is no combat hero, he must have known he was outclassed by his oppressor. It is my guess he tried to flee in _the SUV_ that crashed down here. Because the knife was thrown at him, he would have had enough distance and time away from the culprit to get in quickly and start driving.”

“Driving away, he would’ve escaped had it not been for one thing: _the poison_ on the dagger that cut through his hand earlier. Because of this poison, he was unable to move and control the vehicle he was in. A couple of options can explain his symptoms; he was killed immediately after the poison set in, he was knocked unconscious, or he was rendered paralyzed. Regardless of which of these the poison was, it started to affect him as he was driving.”

“Unable to control the car, his foot stayed on the gas pedal, _unable to brake_ , and the victim rammed into the wall down here. Had the victim been physically able, he would have fled from _his location_ if he crashed here. But he stayed remained in the driver’s seat, a predicament caused by _the poison_ that made him crash in the first place.”

“It was easy pickings for the culprit from there. They approached to where the vehicle crashed and shattered the _driver side window_. They did this in order to _open the car door_. From there, they _stabbed_ the victim through the chest. The victim could do nothing but stay there as he was finished off.”

“I doubt the dagger was the murder weapon that killed Lookout, but it was, without a doubt, critical in completing the murder. The true murder weapon must have remained with the culprit as they left the crime scene. Unfortunately, the culprit left little indication of who they were. This… is the truth of this case. If I had to make an assumption on the identity of the culprit, it had to be someone with agenda against Masuru Toda or heroes as a whole.”

My uncle and the detective looked at each other and then looked back at me.

“Well done kid, you almost got everything right!” my uncle said.

“W-what do you mean? I’m wrong?” I retorted.

“It makes sense you’d think the knife is poisoned bud. That is, after all, the only explanation if you count off quirks. But culprit did use a quirk.”

Detective Tsukauchi chimed in, “This murder scene perfectly matches the MO of a recent serial killer that has come into light. He’s known as Hero Killer Stain. We don’t know the specifics of his quirk yet, but evidence shows it involves paralyzing or stopping his victims. Most of his kills showed little resistance.

“No that’s… that’s not right,” I countered, “I actually _did see_ a poison coating on the throwing knife. I didn’t see it right away, but my magnifying glass showed me it exists. It’s most definitely there.”

Frowning, the police detective borrowed my magnifying glass and went up to check for himself.

I gave a little laugh, “You should see your face, you were so certain I was wrong!”

 “You and that damn magnifier Shuichi!” uncle Shinji said, “Okay, okay, you’ve convinced me bud. I’ll go buy one for myself.”

“About time! Have you… heard of this serial killer before?” I asked.

“Yeah… Me and Naomasa are actually the ones who figured out his murders were connected. You were at school so I didn’t bother telling you.”

“Oh.”

“I wouldn’t worry about Stain, kid. He only goes after heroes. But I am concerned with this case. He doesn’t use poison. This means we have no clue who did it.”

Naomasa Tsukauchi came back and returned my magnifying glass to me. “Shuichi you’re right. There is poison.” He smiled at me and continued, “Without your perspective, we could have easily missed this detail and assumed it was the work of Stain. You’ve got good intuition. I appreciate your help, Ultimate Detective.”

“Anytime detective.”

“So what’s next Naomasa?” my uncle asked.

“We’ll analyze in detail the evidence at the lab, as well as try to go gather eyewitness testimonies. You know, it’s the usual drill Shinji. Ah, and of course the pay to your agency.”

“Appreciate it. Be seeing you around?”

“I’ll try. You know how busy it gets.”

“Bummer. Later then.” My uncle started walking away. “C’mon Shuichi, let’s head back.”

“Right!” I started to go as well, but I turned and said, “I hope you catch whoever did this.”

“I do too Shuichi, I do too.” said the police detective nodding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They keep getting longer! Anyhow, I'm starting to establish a routine now, I'll do my best to keep up with it. You guys can expect new chapters every 5-6 days. Back to Aaron next time! What more are you going to learn about the Boy Thief?
> 
> Author Notes:  
> Man, this was a complete joy to write! Writing a murder scene was a new feel and style for me. I did my best to let Shuichi thrive in his type of environment. Can you tell? He's a bit more adjusted to these types of scenarios.  
> Another interesting fact is that the name Masuru Toda is same name I gave my Persona 3 protagonist.


	4. Thief Path: One More Penny

**Aaron**

“Hey Aaron, you’re supposed to be the mother…”

“The mother? C’mon, really?! Again?”

“Yup.”

“But you’re the girl, shouldn’t you be the mom?”

“No, it should be you.”

“What about Kylee? She always does this game with you. Why do I have to-”

“The adults are talking to her right now. So you’re the mom today.”

I looked at my friend. Ugh, she’s always so assertive. But I didn’t have the drive to talk back to her.

I sighed, “Okay, fine Mary, I’ll be the mom again.”

Mary and I went back down to the second floor of the orphanage. The little guys and girls were waiting in anticipation for us. I hated playing house. I never knew what to do. Neither did Mary, and I doubt Kylee did either. We just tried our best to envision what a normal family was like. But is that really possible for orphans like ourselves?

In the middle of the playtime, I was cooking “dinner”, Kylee came back. She looked chipper and excited but was stuttering like the usual nervous wreck she is.

“Aaron. T-They want to s-see you now.”

I started to go over to the room where the adults were waiting for me, but Mary grabbed my hand. She looked concerned.

“Mary? Hey don’t worry, I’m not gonna ditch you guys! I’ll always stick around and watch over everybody!” I said, smiling back at her. “I’ll be fine.”

Unlike the other boys and girls, I didn’t actually want to be adopted. I just wanted to be here and support them. Mary let my hand go, and I went inside to where the adults were. Great. It’s those weird men in white again. They’ve been eyeing us a lot lately.

“Hello Aaron.” One of them said.

“Hi…” I shuffled my feet. This whole situation felt off.

“We would like you to perform a little test. Do you think you can do that for us?”

I stayed silent.

“See these darts? We want you to hit the bullseye.” He held out a dart for me to take. “Win and I’ll give you $50.”

The allure of that much cash easily won me over. I didn’t trust these guys, but that money would really help all of us out.

I took the dart from his hand and threw it at the target board. I hit somewhere along the outer rings; I did okay, but not that well. Next one I hit closer. Closer. And closer. With each dart my aim steadily increased. By my sixth dart I hit the bullseye.

“Well done Mr. Wolf. We appreciate your participation. You can expect to hear from us again.”

He handed me the fifty dollars, and I promptly snatched them from his hand. I started to leave the room, but he continued to talk, “Please let Mary know we’d like to see her as well.”

I made my way over to Kylee and Mary.

“W-well? Did they m-make you play darts too?” Kylee asked.

“Yeah they did. They’re pretty weird, but I won fifty dollars off of them.”

“Oh… I actually won $150. I got t-three bullseyes!”

“Wow Kylee! That awesome!” I looked at Mary and said, “They also want to talk to you. Maybe you can get lot’s of money too!”

“Yeah…” she said solemnly. She looked pretty depressed for some reason. She left us and went into the room.

Some time flew on by, this time I was the father and Kylee acted as the mom. Mary was taking much longer than us though. Finally, her and the men left the room. Mary looked miserable. She looked like she was crying. That’s not right, Mary isn’t the crybaby, Kylee is.

I walked over to her and asked, “Mary! What happened? You alright? Did these losers do something?”

But she just ignored me and followed the men in white collared shirts.

“Mary?”

The three of them left the orphanage, the birch wooden door closing with a loud thud. I could’ve followed them out, but I didn’t. I just stood there.

And I never saw her again.

And I never saw her again.

And I never saw her –

 

* * *

 

I felt pretty groggy as I woke up in the morning. Light was pouring through the window and tears were forming in my eyes. I knew I shouldn’t have stayed at the orphanage. Bad memories always come back. I quickly rolled the covers off and leapt off of the bed.

The bed? I slept on a couch.

I took a second to gather my surroundings and quickly discovered that I wasn’t at the orphanage anymore. Instead I was in a ritzy room with golden décor. It was filled with large wardrobes and had a private bathroom. A scarlet carpet grazed the ground.

How did I get here? This isn’t normal...

I went over to the main door of the room and tried to open it. It was locked of course. That’s not a problem for Kid Col though! I just need my lockpicks and I’ll be golden… where are they?

I patted myself down and saw that my belongings were no longer with me. I lost the wallet, my tools, my fake I.D.; all of it disappeared. My mask was also gone. Just my clothes were there. Go figure. The boy thief of Gotham was just robbed.

The door did open, though not of my own volition. A tall, old, and balding man in a suit stood at the doorway. Not hesitating, I tried to push past him, to escape, but he was equally as fast. He first tripped my leg and then grabbed my arm to throw me onto the ground. I was pinned.

“Ah, master Aaron, it seems you’re awake.” he said.

_He said my name._

“No way! How do you know my name?! Who the hell are-“

“My name is Alfred Pennyworth. I am the butler that serves this estate.”

“A butler?!”

“Yes, and I’d appreciate it if you’d calm yourself, good sir.” Alfred continued.

“Calm?! You’re kidding right?”

“I certainly wish so. It’d make my job much easier.” A jibe to answer a bad question.

I sighed and asked, “Who did this to me?”

“Would you like to see for yourself?” He released his grip and offered a hand to help me up. Naturally, I ignored it and stood up on my own.

“Hmph. It also appears you lack manners,” the butler said, “Follow me then. And do not try to ‘get lost.’ We’d hate to spend more time ‘looking’ for you.”

It was a threat. If I chose to run away, they, whoever they were, would simply capture me again. No matter. I want see this through anyway. Besides, I’m Kid Col! I always escape.

I followed the butler as we weaved around corners and hallways. We entered a study room; it had a fireplace, a billiards table, a bookcase, and an old, vintage clock hanging on the wall. The place seemed familiar. I’ve been in here before.

“This… this is Wayne’s manor!” I exclaimed. I’ve infiltrated and stolen artifacts from here before. “Is Wayne the one who had me captured? Bruce Wayne?!” How could that rich prick be the one responsible for catching me?

Alfred Pennyworth ignored me and instead started tampering with the clock on the wall. A small click occurred, and the wall around the clock creased and swung inward like a door. It revealed a passageway; this one was very high-tech looking and was illuminated by bright fluorescent lights.

“Master Aaron, I trust you can find your way.” said the butler.

Nodding, I left him behind and followed the path. It seemed Mr. Wayne isn’t who he appeared to be. Let’s find out more, shall we?

Eventually I made my way into another room. It had a huge computer with multiple screens. There were filing cabinets everywhere and plenty of books stacked around. Normally this stuff would bore me, but I was shaken to my core. Because something, no someone else was in that room.

I was afraid this might happen. I’ve had nightmares about this exact moment.

But the world’s greatest detective stood right there in front of me.

“Kid Col. Your true name is Aaron Wolf. Tell me now, am I incorrect?”

“No… you’re right.” My secret identity, my past was unveiled. And knew. I knew deep down, if anyone would discover it, it’d be _her._

“Good,” said the Ultimate Detective, “Let us proceed to the matter at hand.”

Kyoko Kirigiri went over to a filing cabinet and grabbed a folder with plenty of papers.

“First and foremost, I’m going to detail a certain event in your life, to highlight our interest in you Aaron. I’m sure you’re aware of who I am, but for the sake of clarification, our action in taking you in was a joint collaboration between the Future Foundation and our ally in Wayne Enterprises. Bruce Wayne has been generous to our organization for a very long time.”

“But why me? What exactly do you have planned?”

The great detective flicked her light, violet bangs back, and said, “I’ll answer you with another question, why hasn’t Batman taken you in yet? He’s caught everyone that hinders Gotham, at least once. Everyone except for you. Why is that?”

I didn’t answer her. There was no point, the question was rhetorical.

“The truth of it is that you, Kid Col, have never committed major crimes. You never once were a huge concern of Batman to begin with. But that alone wasn’t enough, you actually complied with the vigilante for a long time. Every grunt who’s worked for you knows a simple rule: don’t fight the Bat. Instead, tell him everything. I suspect that you hold him in high regard.”

It was true, for every person I’ve ever hired, I’ve told them to give up at any sign of Batman. To tell him everything they knew about my plans for that particular night. It was for their sake really, why bother hiding the truth from Batman? He’d just beat the answers out of you one way or another. I had a lot of my heists foiled because of this rule, but I’ve always gained enough to make ends meet.

“So how does that rule apply to you then?” she continued, “Reports show that you’ve encountered Batman several times, and every time, you’ve managed to get away. Although I personally don’t know how you escape, Batman is no simple man. He, like myself, is an amazing detective. He would have captured you a long time ago. He is more than capable of bringing you in… anytime. I’m certain he already knows your secret identity as well. This means that there is only one logical explanation.”

_Don’t say it. Please._

“You’re no extraordinary escape artist; even you are not immune to the Dark Knight. Batman has chosen to let you wander in Gotham, to let you continue as the Boy Thief. He lets you roam free in hopes of you choosing a different path: one as the Boy Wonder. Am I correct? Did Batman propose to you to become Robin?”

I closed my eyes. That was without a doubt my biggest mistake in Gotham.

 

* * *

 

Crap! I was cornered in an alleyway. I stared into the mask of the Boy Wonder. This time it was red again, but he wore no green and looked different than the other Robin I’ve seen before. Younger, like the last change, but more so, he looked calmer.

“It wasn’t hard to find you at all. Do your workers really hate you that much?” he said.

Ignore him. Don’t give him a tell. Look for an opening, and _get away!_

Robin pulled a couple Rs from his belt and threw them at me; their edges were as sharp as a shuriken. I took this chance to charge forward, activating my quirk in the nick of time. His robintangs, let’s call them that, were aimed at my shoulders, but instead they slipped through my gaseous form. I ever so slightly made a quick gesture; I had to make it appear as though I’m dodging them. My quirk needs to remain a secret.

Robin looked a little shocked, but he held his stance, ready for a fight. I threw my left arm forward, as if to punch him, but in the last second I pulled my palm back, activating the mechanism to propel the small gun forward from my sleeve. I aimed at his head and fired without hesitation.

The shock of hearing the blank made him stagger a couple of steps, revealing the opening I needed. Reeling my other arm back, I propelled my fist forward, it went faster because of my quirk, and I hit him square in the jaw. He fell flat on his back and was knocked out.

Or that’s what I believed until he swept my legs from underneath me. I also fell on my back, and Robin proceeded to get up and throw a couple of punches at me, to which I raised my arms in defense. It wasn’t looking good, at this rate, I’d have to truly expose my quirk to get away.

“Red Robin! Enough.” Oh no. Not him.

Sure enough, he was just there. It was almost as if the Bat teleported there, he’s just so silent. His black cowl stretched to the floor, it made it appear as though he was the night itself. I was terrified the first time I saw him, but luckily this wasn’t my first rodeo, this was my fifth.

Robin got off of me and Batman proceeded to grab the ends of my shirt and lift me off of the ground.

“So, I guess you’re still mad I took this from you, huh?” From my pocket I revealed a batarang. His signature tool.

The slits of his mask narrowed, making the white appear slimmer, and he said, “How did you do it?” His voice was dark and brooding.

“Aren’t you a detective? Figure it out!”

He threw me back onto the ground, and I felt my back get slightly bruised.

“No more games Col! I’m bringing you in.”

_Quick, think of something, anything! Wait… That’s it!_

“Hold on! Wait a minute!” I began, “I’ve got a proposal for you.”

“Ha! Can you believe this guy, Batman? Let’s just take him in.” Robin said.

The Batman ignored his protégé and asked, “What is it?”

“You don’t know how I do it, do you? How I manage to pull off everything I’ve stolen. So let me go. I’ll keep harnessing my skill, and you’ll have to figure out how I steal.” Please work. Please work!

“This is stupid, let you go?"

“…Go on.” Batman said.

Yes! And now for the sales pitch, “You’re supposed to be a detective right? You let me roam free, and I’ll keep stealing like I usually do. But if you figure out how I accomplish it, and specifically, I’ll do anything you say. I’ll do time, I’ll leave Gotham. _Anything._ I…I’m not lying about this.” I meant it with all my heart.

“Is he serious?” Robin said.

“I am, thief’s honor!” for whatever that’s worth.

A giant moment of silence filled the air. There’s nothing quite like the Bat staring into you, analyzing everything. It was as though he peered into my soul. That, or he was just super intimidating as usual.

“Hmph. Fine then. I’ll expose you Kid Col. Soon. And when I do, expect to atone for your crimes. And _don’t cross me._ ” said the Bat.

He turned around, his cape dragging across the ground as he walked silently away. I could hear the familiar sound of his fearsome beast of a vehicle as it came into view.

Robin wasn’t done though, he said, “You’re lucky, it’s not often Batman takes an interest in people. Soo if I figure out how you steal, you’ll do anything I say?”

“Hell no! Buzz off Robin!”

“Well I do have my theories. Oh and I’m Red Robin, by the way, not Robin.”

There was something different about this one. The first one I only saw when I was younger, he was nonchalant and graceful. The second one was similar, but he was a bit more violent and reckless. The one before me, this “Red Robin”, was cool and collected, he was a thinker.

“Heh, well, bye now.” He turned away too and followed his mentor away. I was left alone and bruised.

It worked. I’m free another day. But at what cost?

 

* * *

 

“So in a nutshell, once he finds out, I’ll have to do anything he says. If he wants me to be Robin, I guess I have to do it. But I don’t know.” I finished explaining to Kirigiri.

“Hmm, well I suppose I wasn’t too far off. That does seem to work in Batman’s favor and explain his inaction against you.”

“But what does that got to with this? What does the Future Foundation want with me?!”

“It’s quite simple really. You have a deal with Batman. We’d like to propose an alternative.” She opened the folder and shuffled through some files. There were plenty of pictures and names in there. She lastly stopped on what seemed to be my page. It had a picture from when I was with the orphanage.

“Kid Col… no... Aaron Wolf. As a representative of the Future Foundation, I’d like to formally invite you to join our organization. Instead, you’d do whatever _we_ say. Or we expose you to the world.”

“…That’s blackmail.”

“I won’t deny that. It is. But why do you steal Aaron?”

“What do you mean?”

“Is it to gain fortune, to accomplish a means? Or do you do it because you know nothing else? It comes to you as naturally as breathing. You live it. You thrive in being a thief. Which is it?”

“I…”

I didn’t want to admit it. Because admitting it means I revealed my secret, I showed her my inner psyche. I didn’t want to open up. But... the release of it all called to me.

“… At first it was for something. I needed money. I needed to do something. Anything! But it wasn’t enough! It was never enough!” My voice was raised.

“Heh. HA! And now I’m a lowly thief. You’re right, I know nothing else now. I live it and breath it! There’s no greater sensation! It’s just who I am. Would you really want someone _like that_ with the great Future Foundation?! A thief?!”

Kyoko Kirigiri crossed her arms, her black coat rippled with a faint purple. She looked at me dead in the eyes. It was as though she was peering into my soul. She wasn’t analyzing me, though; she was confident, as if she already figured me out. She had this small grin on her face.

“Of course we do. It’s the same for me. I’ve been growing my _talent_ for years. And we also want that for you. You can steal all you want, and be helpful to the world for a change. Be an agent of the Future Foundation.” she paused as if to let me soak in the information.

“Additionally, we want something else for you. We’d be stationing you at our base of operations at Hope’s Peak Academy. You, Aaron Wolf, have been personally scouted to join their main course.”

She pointed at me and declared, “You are the Ultimate Thief!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! Next time will be the Ear Plug Heroine herself! How will she fare in UA's entrance exams?
> 
> Author's Notes:  
> I hope you all learned more about Aaron and what kind of person he is. I've got more and more in store for him. For all those who are pretty plot savvy, you might be able to figure out more of his backstory...  
> I wanted to showcase both of the world's leading detectives in this chapter. In regards to who is the greater detective, I'll leave it up to interpretation, but in this world, Kyoko has been a detective longer than Bruce has been Batman.


	5. Hero Path: Speakers, Shuttles, and School Grounds

**Kyoka**

The boots were actually quite snug and comfortable. I didn’t want to give Kokichi credit, but daang! He really pulled through for me! I tested the speakers as soon as I could late last night and they worked splendidly. It was just so easy, smooth, and powerful. The only downside is that I made a huge mess at the beach due to my eagerness to try them. It was a real shame too, someone finally decided to clean that place up, and I toppled a lot of debris and junk down. Eh, oh well. I’m not a hero yet, am I?

“Do your best sweetheart!” Mom told me as I finished strapping the boots on.

“Go rock the world babygirl!” Dad said energetically as I opened up our front door.

“Yeah don’t worry. I will!” I replied to the two of them as I hugged them goodbye.

“Don’t diiiie Kyoka! It’d be a bummer if I lose my favorite sister!” Kokichi taunted as we began our walk to the shuttle.

“I don’t plan to. And as if a school would actually kill students!”

“Yeah you’re right. You’re also totes ready due to those speaker boots I gave you. When you pass the exam today, you can brag to everybody that it was your big brother that got you in!”

“Yeaah, no. I’m the one who’s actually taking the exam. Not to mention I’ve been studying like crazy lately.”

“Well even if you fail, you can always join my organization.”

“You wish!”

Eventually we made it to the shuttle stop. It’d only be a matter of time before it comes to take me to U.A. Hopefully today won’t be my last day on it.

“So Kyoka… Are you sure you’re ready to become a hero?”

“Of course I am. Are you trying to get me nervous before my exam?”

“I’m just saying sis, I’ve seen some preetty nasty things in the world, and heroes tackle them all. You’d be facing all of that.”

“You actually worried about me?” I laughed at him.

“What?! You don’t think your big brother cares about you? I’m so heartbroken!” More of those fake tears of his.

I smiled back at him. “I know what I’m getting into Kokichi, you don’t have to worry… Just promise you’re not gonna leave us again like last time.”

He didn’t reply.

“Please. And no lies.”

He was avoiding eye contact.

“Kokichi…”

Finally the shuttle came. I stepped in and payed. I looked back at my brother to see him walking away. I didn’t even get a goodbye from him. I can understand liars, but I can’t stand it when he acts so cowardly. I know that deep down, _somewhere_ , he really, truly cares about us, about me. But he always has to hide behind that façade of his. I know that him keeping up with the act is the whole reason why I haven’t seen him in 3 long years. It irritates me to no end. He just makes things complicated.

I found a seat and plugged my earplug into my phone. It was time to listen to some jams. Some tunes to hype me up will do the trick. Brother or no brother I’m going to pass the exam!

“Oh I saw you yesterday! You were at the concert!” I looked up from my phone and saw the Ultimate Pianist with me on the shuttle.

“Whoa. Uh wow! You’re Kaede Akumatsu.”

“Yup I sure am!” She moved around from her seat and sat next to me. “So did you like my performance?”

“Did I ever! You were awesome!”

“Great to hear! It’s the whole reason I play: I want to make people happy. Hmm… I saw you near the front of the theater. Yeah there’s no doubt about it! You’re Mika Jiro’s daughter! Umm, Kyoka, right?”

I nodded back at her. At the same time I withdrew my earplug from my phone; it reverted back to the usual spot near my shoulders.

“Yeah, it totally makes sense now that I think about it. Kokichi’s never been to a concert of mine before, so I found it odd when he wanted a ticket from me. But knowing who his family is, it makes sense now.”

“So you know Kokichi?” I asked.

“He’s in my class. Actually, even though it’s been a year, I still don’t know that much about him. He’s so mysterious. So what is his organization actually like? All I know is what he’s told me, but I don’t put much thought into it. He’s such a liar.”

I didn’t want to say anything back to that. Because I didn’t know either. Does Kokichi really not confide in anybody? Not even in other Ultimates?

“Oh, my bad! I haven’t even gotten to know you yet! What are you like Kyoka? What are you passionate about?”

Dang, I didn’t expect a pianist to be so extroverted. I enjoyed it though, there’s nothing quite like talking to another musician. No… it wasn’t that; rather it’s a rare opportunity to talk to an Ultimate in general. They, more so than heroes, are admired around the world.

“I’m heading towards the U.A. entrance exam. I want to be a hero.” I told her.

“A hero?! That’s amazing! That’s so much cooler than what I do!”

“What? But you’re an Ultimate! And you play the piano perfectly.”

“Yeah… But that’s all I really know how to do. It’s not that big of a deal. I’m just a piano freak. Heroes are something completely else though! They have a variety of skills, and they always help people out. All I can really do is make people smile through my music, but that’s nothing in comparison to saving lives.”

“Music can save lives though! It can inspire people and drive to them to be better. Believe me I know, it helps me concentrate. And your playing is really, really good!” I said back to her.

“Oh! Thanks.” She smiled back at me, “You know, Kyoka, I think you love music a lot too. Yup! That makes a lot of sense since you’re the daughter of the Jiro couple.”

“You got me there. Aside from wanting to be a hero, I’m practically all about music. If anything, I want to use my quirk and music to help me as a hero.” I replied.

“Oh, do mean like the hero Present Mic?”

“Yeah, kind of like him. Though he’s a bit obnoxious for my taste. I’m more into punk rock. So what brings you to the shuttle Kaede? I never pictured an Ultimate to be on one.”

“I’m on my way to Hope’s Peak Academy. I figured I’d go to my lab and finetune some of my songs. It has a lot of great song sheets there.”

“Wait, do you mean this shuttle goes to both U.A. and Hope’s Peak?!” I knew the two elite schools were in the same city, but the thought of public transportation going to _both_ of them never crossed my mind.

“Yeah, it’s always done that. It can get crowded during the school year, but I prefer to be with my family than to stay at the dorms.”

In other words, Kokichi could have easily been with us this whole last year…

“Oh, it looks like we’re at U.A.! Good luck with your exam; I just know you can do it!” The pianist raised her arms up in a silent cheer.

“Thanks Kaede, when I pass, you can show me this lab of yours.”

“Yep, it’s a promise!”

 

* * *

 

The school grounds were absolutely huge; it was a towering glass skyscraper, and there were large Greek pillars that aligned the entrances along the steps. All around me were other students who eagerly lined up to head inside. U.A. high school is the prime academia for those who aspire to become heroes, that includes practically anyone who has confidence in their quirk. So naturally many were gathered from far and near.

Once inside, we were in this large auditorium which sat hundreds of us for the exam orientation. I already knew the basics of the exam, I’d have to do a mock battle, but with that limited knowledge, I didn’t know exactly what that would be. Upon entering though, I could get a certain grasp of what we had to do; they handed us each a temporary I.D. card that shows that we're examinees and a sheet that highlights the mock battle exam. It showed four pictures of machines labeled A through D. My guess is that’d we’d be up against those things.

As if on cue, the teacher/hero Present Mic came onto the stage. He wore his signature costume, a black leather jacket, some yellow sunglasses, and his hair spiked up like a roadrunner. “For all you examinee listeners tuning in, welcome to my show today! Everybody say ‘hey’!”

Nobody did say “hey”. Instead, the teacher was greeted by utter silence. I get that he does radio and music too, but he needed his own lessons on how to hype up crowds.

“What a refined response. Then I’ll quickly present to you the rundown on the practical exam!” Present Mic transitioned into the next and main topic. “As it says in the application requirements, you listeners will be conducting ten-minute mock urban battles after this! You can bring anything you want with you. After the presentation you’ll head into the specified battle center okay?”

Good, Kokichi’s assurances weren’t invalid. I’d have no problem utilizing the speaker boots. Additionally, I double checked the card I obtained and saw that I was assigned to battle center G. From the pictures on the big T.V. screen it looked like the battle centers were modeled after sub-urban areas.

Present Mic continued to explain about the robots that were on the sheet of paper. We’d have to immobilize and/or destroy them in order to gain points for the exam. The T.V. showed three of them, from 1 point to 3 points. We also weren’t allowed to attack other students and other “unheroic” actions.

In the middle of his explanation, a tall, blue-haired student with glasses interrupted him, asking to speak. “On the printout there are four types of villains. If that is a misprint, then U.A., the most prominent heroic school in Japan, should be ashamed of that foolish mistake. We examinees are here in this place because we wish to be molded into exemplary heroes.”

The four-eyes turned around, pointed at another student, a nervous looking student with freckles and green hair, and said, “In addition, you over there with the curly hair, you’ve been muttering this whole time. It’s distracting! If you’re here on a pleasure trip, then you should leave immediately!”

Wow. Dude, get off your high horse. I didn’t even notice the poor kid, and you publicly shamed him in front of all of us here. Not cool.

“Okay, okay Examinee Number 7111.” Present Mic said, motioning for the student to sit back down. “Thanks for the great message. The fourth type of villain is worth 0 points. That guy’s an obstacle so to speak. There’s one in every battle center - an obstacle that will go crazy in narrow spaces. It’s not impossible to defeat it, but there’s no reason to defeat it either. I recommend that you listeners try to avoid it.”

Okay, so avoid one type of robot, and go after the others. It sounded fairly easy to do, but the execution is always harder than the explanation.

Present Mic then finished with the school motto, as well as All Might’s signature catchphrase, “Plus Ultra!” Upon hearing that I felt confidence flood into me, and I made my way to my battle center. I will go beyond and become a student here!

 

* * *

 

“What are you waiting for? There’s no countdown in the lives of professional heroes!” Present Mic announced as he arrived.

You didn’t have to tell me twice. I rushed forward to the gate, along with the other students who realized the exam already started.

It’s now or nothing. Let’s review, I need to destroy villains with point values. A good chunk of students are much faster than me, like that kid who’s using tape from his elbows. They’ll likely find and destroy them before I can get to them. So I need to improvise.

I dipped away from the main crowd and went onto another street. From there I used both of my earplugs and stuck them into the ground. Focusing, I used my quirk to listen in on all the surroundings of the area.

Good. There’s plenty of movement ahead of me. Meaning there’s a lot of robots ripe for the taking. Unearthing my earjacks, I sprinted forward to where I located the sound. Right turn, left turn, forward, left turn. Upon reaching the clearing, I saw what I anticipated: 6 robots! They were about twice or three times the size of a normal human being, but they didn’t move too fast. There were three 3-pointers, one 2-pointer, and two with 1 point each. A total of thirteen points.

Alright Kokichi, let’s just see how good these boots do against high school made, killer robots! I inserted both of my plugs into the speakers on my shoes and focused on the sensation of my heart beating. I channeled that sound through and let it roar! Immediately the robot was torn apart by the sound wave; its machinery scattered forward.

Yes, at this rate I can do it! Once again, I ran dodging and weaving between robots and blasting them into pieces. I repeated the process, earning myself the total of points there. I still need more points though, on to the next place!

I traveled some distance and stuck my earplug into the side of a building to scout the surroundings. I had bad luck a couple times, not sensing where more can be found, but eventually I hit the jackpot. Like before, there were 6 robots, but every single one of them were three pointers. I took the initiative, easily getting used to my new boots, and I shot my sonic attack at them, each of them too slow to counter. I was about to finish off the last one, but something unexpected happened.

Appearing before me was the very large 0-pointer robot. It burst from the building near I was, and _loomed_ over me, over the rooftops! It peered into the streets as if it was looking for its prey. From where it created a large clearing I saw other students fleeing away. Gathering my nerves, I turned around to do the same, there’s no way I could beat something that huge!

That wasn’t what occurred though, and I didn’t get to escape. The robot punched into the ground, and the impact sent a wave of force that made me fly into a side of a wall. The full front of my body, including my face, slammed into it, knocking the breath out of me as I collapsed on my back.

What the hell! Should U.A. even be allowed to use those things?!! With my remaining strength, I willed myself back up to stand, only for my feet to buckle under the weight of my body. Oh no. My ankles were severely twisted. The monster robot was drawing closer and closer, and all I was able to do was crawl slowly on my knees away. It wasn’t looking good, even if I had enough points, I won’t be able to pass the exam if I’m squashed like a bug!

“Here! Let me help you!”

I looked up to see a gloved hand extended out to me. Thank goodness! I gladly grabbed onto it, leaning all of my weight on the person who helped me up.

“Thanks a bunch! Now let’s get out of here before-” I paused as I looked at the person I leaned onto. Which was nothing. I didn’t see anyone there but two gloved hands, and boots.

“W-whaaat?!” I said alarmed. Where’s the face? There should be face right?!

“C’mon we need to get away!!” the voice said to me. It sounded like a girl. She hurried me forward as the giant robot moved, dust blowing around with each step it made. Slowly but surely, we were gaining distance from the large machine.

“Who are you? Is this your quirk?” I asked her, limping, my arm… around her shoulder? We traveled farther and ignored the other students who were focused on fleeing and destroying the smaller robots.

“I’m Toru Hagakure,” she said, letting me back down as I leaned against a street lamp pole, “You can probably tell, but my quirk is Invisibility!”

Ah. That explains it, she was completely invisible aside from her boots or gloves. But that means…

“Thanks for helping me out, Hagakure.” I said to her, “Umm, but if you’re invisible, does that mean you’re, uhh, not… wearing any clothes?” I felt my face get heated as I asked that.

“Aaaah! Stoooop! Don’t mention _that_!!” Hagakure replied, sounding equally as flustered.

“A-anyway, why’d you go out of your way to help me? You know there’s no points for that right?”

“I know that! But I couldn’t just stand and watch! You needed help! Besides… I don’t have any points anyway. There’s nothing I can really do against those robots.”

“Oh… But don’t you want to pass? You have to get going if you need points!” I said her, motioning with my plugs to go.

“Don’t worry, I have plenty of ti-”

“Tiiiiime’s up! The exam is officially over!” Present Mic announced, though I wasn’t sure from where. The giant faux villain stopped moving.

“Oh.”

“Hagakure… I’m sorry. I-”

“It’s all okay! At least I know I was able to help you out. And I’m sure you’ll pass! I saw you blow those robots away; you did amazing!” she interrupted. Her voice was wavering though. “You’ll be a great hero, uhh-”

“Jiro. Kyoka Jiro.”

“Jiro! Go beat up the world for me!” _Don’t heroes save the world though?_

“Oh my, did you hurt your ankles?” an old and small lady said as she approached the two of us. She looked like a nurse.

“Y-yeah. They’re all twisted up.” I responded, extending my earlobes to point to where I was hurt. It stung like hell.

What happened next was quite unexpected, her lips outreached as she went to kiss my ankle. I was dumbstruck. But my feet twisted back into place and I felt much, much better. It was as if I magically and instantly better.

“There you go sweetie,” she said. She turned around and went to go check on other students.

“Wow! That was Recovery Girl!” Hagakure said, her gloves bouncing up and down.

“Recovery who?” I asked, standing back on my feet.

“She’s the nurse of U.A. and her quirk allows for super speedy healing. She’s really cool, especially since she helps us students out!”

“That sounds pretty rad.”

“Yeah, people say she’s the backbone of the school. It’s the reason why they’re able to use such crazy exams and drills.” Hagakure stated, “Well, it was nice meeting you Jiro! Let me get your phone number. Then I can show all my friends I know someone from U.A.!”

“Sure.” I said, showing her my number on my phone, “But aren’t you’re a bit too confident I’ll pass?”

“Nope! You did awesome! Well bye now!”

She walked away, from what I could tell, and left me to my thoughts. The exam was over and I scored a total of 28 points. Is that enough to pass though? I didn’t have time to think about that, rather I headed towards my next destination with the written exams. Those, at least, I was prepared for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Schools starting to get a bit more busy for me lately. I'll try and push out chapters weekly. Deductively, you can expect the Shuichi to make a return next time!
> 
> Author Notes:
> 
> This chapter marked the beginning of the canon events merging with this fanfiction. So I wanted to highlight Kyoka's whole journey through her first time at U.A. A divergence I'm making from canon is that Jiro was aware and knew who the hero Present Mic was. I feel in this universe she would know about his presence. Also, Toru Hagakure was a great pleasure to write about. I was never satisfied with not knowing how she actually got into U.A.


	6. Detective Path: Dice

**Shuichi**

“Hello, you’ve reached the voicemail of 413-”

Darn. He’s not picking up. I dialed once again but to no avail. Rantaro wasn’t answering his phone. It was the first thing I did when I woke up in the morning, which was late considering how much sleep I needed following last night’s unexpected investigation.

The folder, in relation to my findings of Kid Col, was labeled as “Ultimate Scouting”. It was for the dean’s and select personals’ eyes only; in other words, I didn’t have access to that particular file. The search, however, showcased it nevertheless when looking up the boy thief.

Hope’s Peak Academy is known for their intense and specific scouting of students. Unless if the school board believes that the individual is the best at the particular talent they’re enlisted for, or one day will be, that person won’t even be considered for the main course.

Another requirement is needed though, one in place because of our principal. The person has to have a certain capacity for hope. We are called Hope’s Peak after all. It’s almost religiously talked about and for good reason. No main course student who graduates from Hope’s Peak, at least those from after the tragedy, are regarded as truly self-righteous and uptight, even if they show some of those qualities here and there. They graduate and inspire the rest of the world to the highest caliber. Begs the question, though, how does one measure hope?

Even with that in mind, they’re considering a thief? An… Ultimate Thief? It’s not implausible, considering Kokichi’s talent, but unlikely nevertheless. It’s why I had to get ahold of Rantaro, to let him know. But it sure was frustrating not being able to contact him.

“Got some info, it’d be best to call back when you can.” I texted him, defeated.

I sighed and decided to get back to work. That stack of cases wasn’t going anywhere. The one I left off on, the one I fell asleep doing, was about a missing dog, a german shepherd to be exact. I finished most of the prep work and data collecting fortunately; it won’t take much time from there. If the dog went missing at this time, then the complaints from the neighborhood started occurring here, around the same time. Long nights without sleep due to a dog howling.

Narrowing the complaints down, I noticed two that stuck out. Both households lived next to each other. One complained the most, whereas the other only complained once; meaning that this family is likely hiding the dog.

I circled the house. It’s there.

“Whatcha doing there, bud?”

“I’m doing some more cases. You know, the usual-”

“No you’re not. Shuichi. I told you I’ll be taking care of those.” stated my uncle with authority.

“But I-”

“No ‘buts’ kid. It’s my agency, my work. Besides, you’re young! I can’t keep you cooped up in here forever!”

“How am I supposed to improve though?”

“Easy. Go out, see the world! Get a girlfriend or something kid! You can’t be a detective and not search for what _you_ want.”

“But I want to-”

“Nope!” Uncle Shinji then proceeded to grab my stack of papers off of my desk and carried it out of my room.

“Oh and if you’re still in the house in an hour, I’ll give you no cases for the next two weeks!” he shouted from his office across the hallway.

I sat in my chair, gazing at the ceiling fan dumbfounded. I guess I got a free day now, don’t I?

 

* * *

 

Clad in a black and white plaid flannel, and my messenger bag of course, I set off on my day adventure. If I can’t do cases at the agency, I suppose I’ll just head to my lab at Hope’s Peak. There I’d have plenty of things to keep me occupied. Poison to study, computer programs to learn, etc.

“Oh. My. God. Shuichi! Who would’ve thought I’d see you here!”

Sure enough, walking towards me was Kokichi. The Ultimate Supreme Leader was in very different attire than what I’m used to seeing him in. He had a brown leather jacket on over a green t-shirt with a guitar plastered on it.

“…Kokichi.”

“Yup it’s me! Are you disappointed?”

“No. I’m just surprised. Did you come from the shuttle?”

“Yeah. I was dropping off my baby sister to the exams! Oh, how they grow up!” he said grinning with his hands behind his head.

“You have a sister?!”

“Who knows? I could be lying! For all you know I have a little bro who’s waaay smarter than you!”

I closed my eyes and didn’t reply to him. It was more of his shenanigans. And honestly, he messed with me way too much last year. But perhaps two can play at that game.

“Uh, eww. Are you wearing that stupid emo hat again? So lame.” He commented.

“You’re one to talk! Kokichi. In green? The world will never hear the end of it!” I replied.

“Hey! I can wear whatever I please! I aaam the supreme leader after all! I flourish in my freedom!” he paused, touching his chin. “Hmm… I know! Since you’re here let’s play a game!”

Oh great. Not one of _those_. Let’s see if I can wiggle out of this one.

“Uhh actually I got to get going, I got to make the shuttle-”

“Nonsense Shuichi! Didn’t I just tell you? The shuttle just left with my sibling. You’ve got pleenty of time before the next one!”

“…You could be lying.”

“Well duh! But c’moon,” he put his fists in front of his chest and looked at me expectantly. “It’s just a game! What are you, scaared? Who knows, maybe you’ll learn more about my secret organization!”

“Yeah you and your 10,000 member organization,” I said sarcastically, “Okay, okay. What’s this game?” Fine then Kokichi, let’s see what you got!

“Yay, hurray for me! Okay. Check this out!” he pulled out a die. “I want you to take this dice and roll it!”

“…That’s it? No knives? No ‘death’ games? Just a die?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

“What’s the catch?”

“No catch. A liar like me knows better than to lie about something so simple! Then again...”

“Yeah, yeah, you could be lying.” I said as nabbed the die from his hand.

I was about to roll it when I noticed something peculiar. This white die was not the standard. It had four 5s, each of them filled with purple dots, one 2 which was green, and one 1 that was red.

“What’s this about?” I asked Kokichi.

“Maaybe I’ll tell you, if you actually roll it!”

And so I did. I knelt down at the ground and tossed it on the sidewalk. Okay, I rolled a purple 5. No surprise there, I had a 66% chance of getting that.

“So what now?” I said.

“…What? Yeah that’s it.”

“That’s… it?”

“Yeah you played the game.”

“Did I win?”

“I dunno. Did you?”

I sighed at him. I should’ve known this was pointless. He’s just wasting my time like usual. “Bye Kokichi. I’ll be going now.”

“A 5 means servitude.” he said suddenly.

_Wait what?_ “Excuse me?”

“Since you rolled a 5, it means you’re going to be my servant for the rest of your days! Bwahahaa!”

“Stop playing around! I didn’t agree to that!”

“Oh, but you did. As soon as you rolled that die.”

“You didn’t say anything like that though!”

“It’s true. I didn’t. But who’s to say you’re not already my servant?” He touched his forehead and grinned manically. “Oh Shuichi, I have you wrapped around my finger. Even your bad luck shows so!”

Ugh, this guy. So the purpose of the die was to create the opportunity to simply gloat to me. Pathetic. How much attention does he crave? I should’ve known better than to play along. He’s nothing more than a big kid, a lonely trickster who doesn’t know how to socialize. I pity him, but it’s been a whole year since we met, and he hasn’t changed for the better at all. He could've at least made the effort to connect with the rest of us, but he never did.

“Are you done? ‘Cause I am. This is dumb Kokichi and you know it.”

“GASP! How dare you talk your master that way! I’ll make sure to find a punishment most suitable! Yes indeed. I, Sir Kokichi bid you, foul scum, adieu!”

He started to walk past me, but paused and said, “Y’know, not everything I say is a lie. Are you already forgetting such an easy truth? Well, keep the dice, I’m bored of it anyway. Until next time detective.”

“Honestly…” I sighed under my breath. My goodness, he is a bizarre one, but hey, if he has anything going for him, Kokichi never ceases to amuse. He was right though, lately I’ve been taking what he says with a grain of salt. I should be more aware of that. But admittedly that’s hard to do when he’s so frustrating to talk to.

Onto the shuttle then. Better than walking. We went our separate ways and I found myself browsing the news on my phone on the shuttle.

 

* * *

 

Hope’s Peak Academy is only rivaled by only one other school in terms of sheer scale: U.A. High School. If U.A. has huge grounds and battle centers to train their students in the hero course, then Hope’s Peak has an arrangement of multiple labs to provide for their Ultimate Students. For each student with an Ultimate Talent, there is a lab that is prepared in advance for them, fully customized for their time there and forever after.

When I arrived there, I was reminded of the spectacle one would have upon seeing the school the first time. Its brick walls towered high merging into a more intricate design of glass and steel. Unlike U.A., Hope’s Peak expanded upwards and upwards, being the tallest building in the city. The technology able to make it go up so high was from the Future Foundation and Wayne Enterprises.

Taking the more scenic route, avoiding the elevators, I weaved around corridors and up the many stairs to go to my lab. On the way I heard some music, that of a piano. Ah, Kaede’s here! I snuck into her lab, to which she usually leaves the door open. The room was filled with wooden panels, the kind to utilize sound allowing the acoustics to be pitch perfect. She was just wrapping up a classical tune, one I’ve heard her play many times.

“Oh, Shuichi! I haven’t seen you since the school year ended!” she remarked as she saw me enter, to which the music ended.

“Yeah, sorry about that. Cases have been keeping me busy.”

“Aw geez! You’re still at it? You need to learn to take a break once and a while! Professor Asahina warned you too! You even missed the get-together she organized!” With each point she made, she walked closer to me and away from her piano.

“I know, I know, but I can’t help it! You know how it is since we’re Ultimates. And cases have been piling up for me.”

“That’s no excuse! Even Rantaro made it there!”

“Rantaro went?” It must’ve been from before he went to Gotham.

“Yeah, he only came back for one day, but still, he made it.” She sighed, and continued to talk, eager to move on from the current topic. “Uhh, did you know Kokichi has a sister?”

That I didn’t expect to hear. My mouth was open, shocked. I had my suspicions that he actually indeed had a sister, but I didn’t expect them to be answered so soon.

“Well I actually met her earlier on the shuttle. She is wildly different than him! She’s actually trying out for U.A.’s hero course today! Isn’t that cool?” she continued.

“Are you sure that they’re related? It could be one of his tricks!” Kokichi’s sister, a hero? The idea is so unfeasible.

“Nope, she’s the real deal. She even has the zig-zag highlight in her hair just like him. Her name is Kyoka Jiro, you know like the Jiro Couple! I’m not sure why, but it seems Kokichi doesn’t use his family’s last name. It’s probably because they’re so popular.”

“Uhh… Jiro Couple?”

“Aw geez, that’s right. You don’t know your music artists at all!” She walked back to her piano and played a key. It resonated throughout the rest of the room. “Anyway, she seemed like a nice person. Much better than her brother anyway.”

“Yeah...” I said, remembering my previous encounter with him that day. “So Kaede, what are your plans for the day?” I felt my face flush red as I looked away from her.

“Hmm, I was going to practice some new songs, but it’d be nice to do something else for a change. I know! Shuichi, are you free today?”

“I’m heading towards my lab, there’s some studying I need to…” _What am I doing?! You idiot! It’s your day off!_ “Actually it’s no big deal, I can do that later. Yeah I’m free.” I said back at her.

“Great!" The smile she had on made my heart leap.  "But are you going to keep wearing the hat?"

"Huh? Is there something wrong with my hat?"

"No, it's just that... you know what? Nevermind!" She ran forward and grabbed my hand. "I just know the perfect place you gotta try out! It has the most exquisite menu!"

"A-Alright." I stuttered as I followed her away. This wasn't how I expected my day to go, but my uncle was right; it was a very nice change of pace.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A day late, sorry about that! The next one to make a return is Aaron, but expect to see him in two weeks, my goal is the 8th or 9th of October. You know, school and all that stuff. :)  
> Author's Notes  
> Some Ultimate talents can allow a person to thrive in seclusion, but other talents rely on other people. Shuichi's talent is one where his workload comes from others and with the fame of being an Ultimate, his uncle's agency has been flooded with more work. Luckily for Shuichi, Shinji can help alleviate the load.  
> As for Kokichi and his games... who knows?
> 
> EDIT: Sorry guys, I gotta postpone the chapter yet another week. It's been rough, but don't worry, I'm not abandoning this fanfic. :)


	7. Thief Path: Wildcard

**Aaron**

I stared at her broken, crumpled body as it was lifted up into an ambulance. A little girl was crying, and witnesses were exclaiming how it was a hit and run. Kylee saved the girl’s life, but in pushing her away, she took the full force of the truck that hit her. The bastards kept driving away, reminding me of how rotten Gotham can be.

I ran over to one of the medics and said, “S-she’s my friend! Will she be okay?! Is she-”

“It ain’t looking good. But we’ll do what we can to help.”  He paused and shook his head. “It sure isn’t going to be cheap though. It’s gonna cost the orphanage a fortune if they want to a keep her alive.”

“What?! No that can’t be…”

“Our mayor’s new healthcare just isn’t enough to… Oh. Don’t pay me any mind kid. We’ll fix her up in no time!” It was an obvious lie.

“Here! Please take this! Maybe… maybe this’ll help?” I handed him the 50 dollars I won from the other day.

He only shook his head again, “That’s not enough boy. That’s not nearly enough.”

His co-worker knocked on the ambulance, signaling that they finished securing Kylee in. With quick acceleration they drove away, hurrying to the nearest hospital that would host my friend. But for how long?

For as long as the money comes pouring in… that’s the twisted answer of this corrupted city.

 

* * *

 

Me? An Ultimate? No… It simply didn’t sound right. I’m no herald of hope, I’m a beacon of misfortune for everyone I steal from. Misery follows from where I take. I’m a thief after all. I wanted to convey those thoughts into words, but I just stood there dumbstruck, my mouth open.

And Kyoko Kirigiri stood there, waiting patiently for my response. It seemed she expected this type of response from me, and it makes sense too. She must have conveyed this message to many rising Ultimates.

I tried to compose myself, to say my natural answer. But then I realized I didn’t have a natural answer. I really didn’t know how to feel about this scenario. I’m being blackmailed to join the Future Foundation and become an Ultimate Student of Hope’s Peak Academy. On the one hand, my secret identity is being threatened, and I absolutely hate the idea of anyone having leverage over me. Which is why I regret my action with Batman so much. But then again, the idea of being their agent and being allowed to steal for the greater good? To have a purpose other than just wasting my time away in Gotham? It was absolutely liberating.

“I…”

Suddenly the monitors behind the Ultimate Detective lit up furiously. Across the many screens was one message, “Emergency Call!”

“Kirigiri here, what’s happening?” Kyoko said as she pressed a button to answer into a mic.

“It’s the student! The one you call the Ultimate Adventurer; he’s been abducted!” I recognized that voice. It was GCPD’s own Commissioner Gordan.

“What?”

“You heard me, detective. I need you to get down here, this is Future Foundation business after all. But I got a bad feeling about this. This was left at the scene of the abduction.”

The monitors flashed and a picture a was sent. It contained a playing card stained with blood. That card was a joker.

“Oh no,” I whispered quietly, “He’s so done for.”

Kyoko pressed the button and spoke yet again, “…Roger that commissioner. I’ll make my way as soon as I can. I trust an escort will come for me?”

“I’ll send some of my men over. My gut tells me it’s the Joker, so watch yourself. Should I call Batman?”

“I’m sure he already knows, but do what you will.”

The Ultimate Detective turned back to me. Her eyes were focused. “Aaron Wolf. I have your first mission for you. Since you stole from Rantaro Amami earlier and likely caused every thug in Gotham to notice him, I doubt you have any position to deny.”

She continued, “I’ll be busy analyzing the crime scene of his abduction and following any leads.” She pointed at me again, and said, “You, on the other hand, have a different task. I hope you know this city in and out because I’m sending you to go and rescue Rantaro.”

“Excuse me?! You expect me to go after him? After _the Joker?!_ You must be new to town, because that’s the definition of suicide. I don’t even know where he is!”

“Think of the rescue operation as another one of your heists. I’m sure you’ll be able to manage that just fine. Besides, you are Gotham’s Kid Col; I doubt your lie that you don’t have _any_ idea where the Joker may be hiding away.”

Damn it! She saw right through me. I, in fact, have several ideas of where the Joker might be. I already have a strong inclination of where he is currently too. I have to if I want to plan any successful heists. Once he mixes into the situation, it simply spells out disaster. To prepare any theft in Gotham I have to know where all the big wigs are, especially him.

“I’ll take your silence as confirmation of that. Aaron… we need you and your expertise on this. Whether you like it or not, we’re already in a situation where we have to count on you as a full-fledged member of the Future Foundation. Are you up to the task?”

“…This is a lot for me to take in.” I nodded my head, “Fine, but I won’t go after him if it’s just me. I’m not confident I can take the Joker by myself.”

“We’ll need you to be discreet, but if you need back up, we won’t hesitate to send more. Does that satisfy you?”

I chuckled back at her. “Not at all. But you’re right, this is my city and I’m best suited for this aren’t I? Well, besides Batman. And Robin. And Batgirl. And Night-”

“No. Us at the Future Foundation won’t call upon the likes of heroes to do our internal affairs,” the detective interrupted me, shaking her head. “Besides we need to take care of our own. One thing you need to know is that Rantaro is an intern of ours. Much like what you’ll become.”

“Hold on, I’m only going to be an intern?!” I exclaimed.

The Ultimate Detective simply sighed at me, a disappointed look spreading across her face. “Look Col, are you going to help us or not? We don’t have any more time for pleasantries.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll help you out. You happy now?”

“Not until we get Rantaro back.”

And so began my first mission as an agent, pardon, _intern_ of the Future Foundation. Locate the hostage captured by the crazed psychopath known as the Joker, rescue him quietly and escape without being killed or worst.

Sounds easy right?

 

* * *

 

Joker has this strange fetish for abandoned, creepy amusement parks. He has this habit of altering the rides and lights there to represent every child’s typical nightmare of a clown: creepy music box soundtracks, flicking green and purple lights, a carousel with the horses’ heads swapped with oversized baby doll heads, etcetera, etecetera. Whereas Batman jump scares you, Joker tends to crawl under your skin.

It was no different when I arrived there, the rollercoaster this time held mannequins dressed as civilians with several aberrations and limbs torn and/or attached to them. One of them actually had a decaying head, it smelled quite profusely.

How do I know all this? Why, I was riding the coaster with them of course! How can I resist the pull of an old, worn, rickety wooden roller coaster? It’s just so bumpy and fast! In all seriousness though, it was the easiest way to blend in and scope out the area at the same time. The Joker’s grunts were many around; I’m not the fighting type, and although I’m capable of holding my own, why risk open confrontation? No the best way to retrieve Rantaro and ensure his safety is to do as the Ultimate Detective said: discreetly.

Now, where would Joker keep a hostage? Hmm if I was an evil, twisted, villain that has no care for the residents of Gotham City I would… wait that sounds like me. Ugh, this ride is starting to make me dizzy and nauseous. That tends to happen when you ride it five times in a row with decapitated, rotting head two seats ahead of you.

No sense in thinking about it I guess. The Joker is all about being unpredictable, so why bother going through the effort to predict him? The mirror room sounds spooky, never go into any arboretum, hmm… the café will be a good place to start.

I stood up in my seat and leaped out the car of the coaster. I descended fast, but activated my quirk to ease my landing, my legs and feet materializing back when I reached the ground. From there I crouched down and steadily made my way over to the park’s café; its lettered lights that used to spell “MICK’S RESTAURANT” now say “I C U”. The grunts had plenty of guns too, but it seems the ones that were supposed to guard the café were too occupied playing a game of blackjack on one of the outdoor tables. Slackers.

But for me, it was just my luck.

Using my lockpicks, Kirigiri was generous enough to return my belongings, I opened the main door in a matter of milliseconds. Too easy, I didn’t even need my quirk for that one! Inside Mick’s, the whole place was rearranged; it was like a creepy art gallery. There were many podiums and all of them had mannequins that stood on them with varying poses. But real spooky part was that each of the mannequins represented someone famous in Gotham. The biggest of these was Batman, but there was also the commissioner and Robin. The “good guys” weren’t the only ones too, there was also Two-Face, Penguin, Red Hood… me. And on each of the many mannequins there was a thick red streak across the heads carving a red smile.

I shuddered. This is the exact reason why I keep away from Joker. There’s something demented in that head of his. I wondered if that’s what the despair looked like when I was baby back in the tragedy. I’ve heard some nasty things about that Junko Enoshima character, but could she even compare to today’s latest psychopath? Rumor has it that the true villains of this world are trying replicate her work in some twisted way. Or maybe they’re even trying to surpass her…

Suddenly, dozens of loud pops echoed from just outside the café. Gunfire.

I quickly dove to the ground and kept my head low. Bullets spread randomly throughout the makeshift art museum and the windows were easily shattered. Among all that noise I heard loud screams, shouts, and grunting.

And then silence.

I took a second to stay still and then got up quietly. Still crouching, I went over to one of the shattered windows and peered out.

I was amazed and in awe of what I saw. Dozens, no even more grunts were all on the ground squirming in pain or just plain unconscious. And standing above them all was Batman and Robin. No wait, he goes by _Red Robin._

One of the grunts had the misfortune of still being awake and receptive. Batman grabbed his arm and held it tight.

He spoke, “Joker. Where. Is. He?”

The grunt simply laughed. “Like hell I’ll tell you Bats you piece of s- AARGH MY ARM!!”

“WHERE IS HE?”

The grunt with his broken arm was now sobbing. “H-he’s in the mirror house. Joker’s gonna mess you up-” He was interrupted by a fist to the face.

“Red Robin, search the area for any explosives or toxins. I’ll be in the mirror house.” Batman stated to his protégé.

Red Robin hesitated. “Will you be okay? I mean this is the Joker we’re talking about. He did, you know…”

“I’ll be fine. Go.”

Red Robin left the Bat and started to head in _my_ direction. I quickly activated my quirk throughout the entirety of my being and became invisible to his eyes. As he entered the café, I left, willing myself up and through the broken window and followed Batman as he strutted towards the mirror house.

Ghostlike and silent I followed until he entered the building. I returned back to my original form, gasping for a breath of air. It’s just so hard to utilize my quirk throughout my whole body.

I paused for a second and then contacted the Ultimate Detective through a closed channel via a custom Future Foundation phone. “Col here. I have a possible location on the Joker. Batman and Red Robin are also here. To be frank I’m not keen on seeing them.”

“Keep a low-profile Aaron; see if Joker divulges any secrets of Rantaro’s whereabouts. If you run into Batman, tell him ‘Codename Mirage’.”

“Codename Mirage? What’s that?”

“It’s simply the fastest way to tell any Justice League member you’re with the Future Foundation. Avoids any bad hassle.”

“I don’t think he’ll be too happy knowing I’m with the Future Foundation.”

“Don’t you worry about that. We’ll be able to handle that.”

“Riight. You guys are the great Future Foundation! Even the Justice League bows to your splendor!”

“You know it’s not like that. Anyhow, keep up the work.”

We both hung up and I stepped inside the mirror house. I braced myself, and once again turned into my misty form. If I wanted to remain unseen, I’d have to keep my quirk activated for as long as I possibly can. It’s not easy, and always risky.

The mirror house is designed as an intricate maze and optical illusion. There was no need for the Joker alter anything in here. It suited his needs perfectly. In many mirrors I saw Batman carefully strutting forward, and Joker pacing back and forth. I didn’t see myself though, and true to my quirk, I drifted around corners moving closer to where I heard the devil speak.

“Ya’know Batsy? I was just getting ready to see you! Oh, _how long_ was it since we last played in here eh? I believe Robin really did enjoy beating the living crap out me! Aalll those broken mirrors. It’s bad luck you know! Heheheh. Maaaybe you’re more refined.”

Batman answered him by punching though a mirror; shards flew everywhere, but in this place, it looked like the world itself was shattering. So this is what looks like to be on drugs! A thousand images of a man dressed up as a bat, a clown in a purple suit, and me with my incorporeal body. Sounds like your typical Gotham morning!

“Oh my! Feisty, feisty! You should learn to control anger Bats! It might come to _bite_ you later!”

Batman ducked and two large axes swung over his head. I should’ve figured the place is booby trapped. Made me glad I was just floating around. Though, like before, I was getting a bit restless. I didn’t have much time left.

This time the Dark Knight spoke, “I know your games Joker. I know your tricks. So tell me…”

He moved fast jumping through a mirror, the mirror that was right in front of me, shattering it and going through me; my form spreading around him as he tackled Joker who was actually right behind me. I suddenly felt faint and tired. That didn’t feel good at all. I turned my presence around and saw Batman gripping the clowned prince of crime by the throat.

“Where is Rantaro Amami?!”

The Joker coughed up some blood and answered, “What? Is that some type of sushi? My, my Bats, I know you want me, but I’m afraid I’m all taken. Weell I can always make an exception for you! I’m sure puddin’ won’t mind-”

A punch to the face. “WHERE IS HE?” I was starting to feel faint.

“Hehehehee. Hahaha. AHAHAHAHA! YEEEEEESS! THAT’S THE SPIRIT! So much _rage!_  So much _authority!”_

I was able to see the glint in his eyes, the madness that lurked within. It looked like his eyes were swirling. This was the closest I’ve ever been to the Joker, and it made even me sick.

Joker uttered something, something so quiet I barely heard it. “No wonder the whole world fears you. You’re a monster.”

Batman glared at him. He used something from his belt, and a rope shot out latching onto Joker’s ankles. The clown ascended, dangling in front him so his head would face the Bats. Me, on the other hand, could barely hold my form any longer. My vision was slowly becoming black. No. No! Hang in there!

“What is it Red Robin?” Batman said, raising two of his fingers to where his ear would be. And with a bolt of speed Batman dashed forward and threw a small grenade down that shattered all the mirrors, clearing a fast path for him to leave.

My form was blown back, it was hard to stay in control. Everything felt like it was on fire. Hold on a bit longer! Just a bit longer!

Joker was swinging back and forth, like a big piñata. He called out to Batman as he left, “Tick, tock Batsy! Time’s a clicking!”

I needed to stay hidden. I have to stay conscious! I have to-

 

* * *

 

Black. Darkness.

It was just me and the void.

But a voice called out to me. That same voice I heard years ago.

“Puhuhu. My, my, Aaron! It’s been a while!”

No. NO. Not again! Wake up.

“You miss me? ‘Cause I missed you. What took you so long?”

WAKE UP!

“Aww, leaving so soon? Don’t worry though. _I have plans for you_.”

 

* * *

 

“Wakey, Wakey kiddo. Hellooo can you hear me? I’m talking to you Kid!”

My eyes opened quickly as I regained consciousness and I saw a white pasty face right of me. You can probably guess who. My left eye also felt a horrific burning sensation. So there was that.

“I must say, I don’t believe we’ve had the honor of introducing ourselves. I’m Joker! Nice to meet you bucko!” He stuck his hand out, awaiting the handshake. C’mon Joker. Give me some credit here. I’m not falling for that stupid trick.

Wait a minute… Where am I? Oh crap.

As I even toyed with the idea of shaking his hand, I came to the realization that the crazed clown had me tied down to a chair. And worse yet, we were in a ferris wheel. You know, the kind where the carts swing back and forth. Yeah I was sliding all over the place. Joker was gripping the chained cage to keep himself steady, grinning manically.

“Hmph. Way to keep a guy _hanging!_   So the boy thief finally decided to show himself! So what do you say, kid? Or should I say Kid Col? Want to join up with your old pal Joker? Be the next dynamic duo?! The master and pupil of crime?!”

“…Sorry, I’m not the type to be _clowning_ around.” No matter the situation I would be with the Joker, I waited _years_ to get the chance to say that. It was too good an opportunity to miss! Unfortunately for me, it came out very raspy and my throat was really dry.

“HA! You got spunk Col! I like that.” He started to spin a knife between his fingers. Where’d that come from? His coat?

“So, I got a couple questions for you. It’d be like a game! It’d put a smile on my face if you answer them.” The cart swung back and my chair slid forward, my face just stopping short of where he held the knife.

“Fine then,” I replied, “Ask away.” I slid back to the end of the cart.

“Now call me insane, but I think earlier, back down there,” he pointed down at the mirror house with the knife, “You just appeared out of thin air. What’s the deal with that kiddo?”

“You’re insane. And the deal is that’s none of your damn business.” I said, calmly.

“Party pooper. Oh well, we all got kinks now do we? Bats especially.”  Joker then glanced at his watch. “Ah phooey. Foiled again. I miss the old days. All the fireworks! The explosions! Those were a spectacle! Wouldn’t you agree?”

“Not partic-”

“Wait! That wasn’t my question! I get a redo! Hmm, ah yes. What brings you over to lil ol’ me?” Once again, the chair slid forward, we were descending now, and I came close to his knife.

“Same reason Batman came here, I’m looking for Rantaro Amami.” The best way to get info is to tell the truth. There’s no way he’d actually give him up, but at least I’d be able to confirm he has him.

“Oh, you heard all that didja? Stop! Don’t answer that. I only get one more question… Oh! I know! What’s so special about this Ramaro Amaka fellow?” Joker spun the knife and licked his chops. God, that’s so gross.

“I… I stole from him yesterday. And now he’s abducted. I’m not the type of guy to make people’s days go from bad to worse. I guess you can say it’s weighing on my conscious.” It was the truth, but not the whole truth. I’m not telling him he’s the Ultimate Adventurer, it could place him at risk if he knew that.

“Hehehe. A thief’s conscious. Good one kiddo!”

Joker walked closer and thrust the knife down at me, stabbing the chair arm, and then wrenched it back out. “Now it’s your turn. You get three questions too.”

“And what happens after that?”

“Oh, you know me. I’ll gut you like a pig, burn you alive, and feed you to the fishes. Maybe not in that order. And I’ll be laughing the whole time too! Ok? Two more.”

Dammit, I just wasted one of my questions. As crazy as he is, this is my best chance to gather info. Honestly, I would’ve been more terrified of this scenario, but after the blackout…

“Where are you keeping Rantaro Amami?” I asked, if he plays fair, he’ll tell me.

“Hell if I know! Everyone keeps thinking _I’m_ the one who’s taken him. But I can’t be responsible for all the Joker wannabes out there can I? Is it my fault I’m so influential? First a kid with that horrendous shade of green, and then they use my namesake! How… _How rude_!”

Wait _what?_ Joker didn’t kidnap him? The cart swung again, we were close to the ground now, and my chair tipped forward; my face fell flat against the floor. Ow.

Joker kneeled down at me and licked his knife. “One more.”

“If… if you didn’t leave that calling card there, then who the hell did?!” I shouted at him, staring him down. I was ready for a fight. If he wants to stab me, I’m more than agile. My quirk is more than versatile.

He grinned even more, though how that was possible, I was unsure. Joker raised the knife to my eye, the one that already felt like hundreds of needles were poking at it. It still hurt.

“They call themselves _The Casino._ ” he whispered at me.

He thrust the knife forward, and I began to activate my quirk, but it’s motion suddenly stopped. Blocked by a pair of scissors.

"Dun dada duuun! It's me, your friendly former neighborhood serial killer!"

 _What?_ I stopped using my quirk, and took a look around to see an older woman with long, black hair with very round glasses and red eyes. In her hands she wielded two scissors. The cart of the ferris wheel also happened to be at ground level.

Should I even act surprised anymore? This is Gotham for crying out loud. Of course, I’d be saved from some scissor-wielding maniac.

Joker’s mood finally flipped, his smile turning into rage as he threw a flurry of swings at the newcomer. The scissor wielder easily outmaneuvered him, sidestepping and blocking his stabs with blades of her own. She then, with speed much like Batman, circled around the Joker and karate chopped his neck, instantly knocking the madman out.

“Soooo… you are… who exactly?” I asked her.

“M-my name’s T-Toko. Toko Fukawa.” She said, cutting my ropes, finally letting me stand up. “I-I’m with the Future F-Foundation. K-Kyoko sent me.”

I rushed out of that abyssal ferris wheel and said to her, “Well thanks for helping me out there Toko.” I paused and analyzed her. Her demeanor was completely different, much more nervous from when she fought the Joker. She reminded me of Kylee… But much older. Did… Did she say serial killer?

“Anyhow, Rantaro’s not here. Joker never had him. He said-”

“KYEHAHAHA, of course he’s not here! My girl Kyoko’s leagues ahead of you Kid Col! She’s already figured out where he’s at!”

What the! She suddenly got this crazed look on her: a tongue that stuck out, hair that almost looked sharper. Toko wasn’t Toko anymore.

“She sent little old me over to save your butt since you weren’t answering your calls. Talk about laaaame. But hey, if I can graduate from intern to agent, maybe there’s hope for a loser like you!”

“Excuse me? You know that’s the Joker right! You just got lucky. He’d totally wreck you if-”

“Meh. I’m over this dump! LET’s GO!” Toko, or whoever it was, rushed forward, grabbed my jacket by my hood, and started dragging me away. She was quite strong. I could’ve used my quirk, but I let her do as she pleased. It was quite a long day, and I was sick of amusement parks.

So long Joker. Won’t be long until Batman comes back.

 

* * *

 

I’ve kept my quirk hidden from anyone and everyone. I call it Gaseous Form, it allows me to transform any part of my body into any type of gas and air. I can choose and willingly control the air I bring forth to operate in any way I please. But I’m not limited to making only my body into air, I can make any non-living being into gas and control it from there.

It was how I stole from the Ultimate Adventurer. From Rantaro. I phased my hand into air, and then part of his pocket and wallet. With my fake wallet already in air form, I simply switched the two out before reverting my hand back to normal.

But no quirk is without drawbacks, and mine is no exception. Every time I utilize my quirk, I feel like that part of my body is suffocating. I feel like I’m gasping for the very essence of what I become. So I’ve had to practice holding that form, much like holding your breath for as long as possible. It’s never a long period, and the consequences of losing consciousness while holding my form are unknown. I can’t imagine it’d be good. It’s… the reason why most of my hair is white now.

Why I heard that voice. Why my left eye turned into a shade of red.

But this quirk of mine. My trump card… I’ve been found out. And it took him sooner than I expected. No. This is bad.

I stared at the letter for a long time. Etched faintly behind the text was the symbol of a bat.

"Kid Col. Aaron Wolf.

You steal in a variety of ways, but the core in which you do so revolves around your quirk. You can utilize your body and transform it into air. This shows how you’ve been able to evade me for a while, but know this, I have ways of keeping air contained.

Ignore me at your own discretion. But you’ll regret it if you do.”

Enclosed was a tiny radio. Simple and black.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off, before anything thing else, I want to do a huge shout out to [Izaioi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Izaioi/pseuds/Izaioi). The works they have are really fun and cool, and if you like My Hero Academia, try reading their work called "Price of a Quirk". This week's chapter is fairly inspired from the first chapter of that work. For Danganronpa V3, I recommend looking at "From the Past to the Present."
> 
> I'll keep doing what I can to pump out chapters, I'm still new to this type of thing, so they might come out in irregular frequencies. Now did Kyoka pass the entrance exams? Wait! Don't answer that, it's rhetorical.
> 
> Author's Notes: This chapter was my most ambitious yet! And it's finally out! I'm hoping you all are enjoying Aaron's/Kid Col's story so far. I hope you're all very familiar with his background now. Writing Joker was tricky, but I needed to try my own spin at it! Writing this fanfiction makes me realize how many insane characters there are in these three universes.


	8. ?????? Path: ??????

**???**

Black. Darkness.

It was just me and the void. The way it should be.

But a presence appeared before me. That same kid I ‘ve seen years ago.

“Puhuhu. My, my, Aaron it’s been a while!”

I taunted him. I take glee, such wonderous glee in seeing him squirm. It filled my soul up with delight.

“You miss me? ‘Cause I missed you. What took you so long?”

Squirming indeed. He wanted a way out. Fine then… Kid.

“Aww, leaving so soon? Don’t worry though. _I have plans for you._ ”

Plans indeed, such wonderful and joyous plans! Here though… don’t leave without a present from me!

And like before, I carved yet another part of me into him.

Delight.

There’s so much delight I take in this!

The world revolving, me and my dark realm. I would’ve grown lonely in my little freedom if not for him. Now, it’s only a matter of time before I share this joyous freedom with everybody else.

Glee.

Delight.

Des-

 

* * *

 

**???**

I entered into the small place. Papers were cluttered everywhere; the man was working earnestly on his desk. He looked very tired. He also had this huge scowl when he looked up to see me.

“Ugh. What the hell do you want now?” he said.

“Oh coome on! You know you missed me! But, yeah, yeah. I’m just double checking to see if the job’s done yet.”

“It’s done.”

“No, that’s wrong. You’re supposed to say, ‘It’s done, boss.’ Like the good little dog you are.”

“And yet you still wonder why everyone hates your guts.”

“Hey! I got a reputation to keep after all. I aaam the-”

“I’ve heard it a thousand times. Get off your high horse kid.” The man got up and searched for a file, a plain folder, and handed it over to me.

“There, everything that happened is in there. Masuru Toda is dead. But it was a little sloppy, not gonna lie.” He told me.

“Whatever, it’s done, that’s all that mattered. He knew too much after all.” I paused, cocking my head to the side and put my finger to my lip. “You know, I got Shuichi to roll the dice. I was a bit disappointed that he rolled a 5 though. Really thought he’d roll a 1 like I did.”

“You’re playing with fire, the kid’s too smart for your games like that.”

“Shuichi? Smart? Ha!  I’m simply toying with him. Besides, it’s only a matter of time before he caves in like you did.”

“You know that’s not the case, he’s better than me. In all aspects.”

“Oh come now Shinji! Give yourself some credit! “

“Oh great. Now I also got the Ultimate Supreme Leader trying to cheer me up. I must really look like a zombie, huh?” Shinji, paused, stroking his goatee in contemplation. “Shuichi, though, he’s a natural. He really is the Ultimate Detective, he reminds me too much of Kirigiri.”

“Speaking of Kirigiri… We’ve got some good work done in Gotham. I think we’ve finally got our hands in the Future Foundation."

"Oh, we do?"

"Yeah, Batman's running around and went after the Joker as planned. They got their eyes all in the wrong place.”

“And what about Kirigiri?” He asked me.

“She has no clue.” I gave him that wicked smile on my face. “Well now, it was nice seeing you, my minion!”

“Don’t even start on that nonsense, Kokichi. We are trying to make the world better, don’t you forget it!”

Back turned, I simply waved bye at him. There was so much to be done, and I’m surrounded by people who can’t even have the tiniest amount of fun. Though at least I have people who believe in me. If I didn’t have them… I’d be in a much darker place.

 

* * *

 

**???**

I was in my usual place at the bar cleaning some glasses. Right now it was just me and Tomura. He’s been getting cockier and cockier, but I’ll have his back at the end of the day. We’re planning something big after all, but we still need more supporters.

“Hey Tomura,” I said. “Soon, Hope’s Peak Academy is showing off their new Ultimates. Perhaps you’ll be interested?”

“…No Kurogiri. I don’t care about the Ultimates. I only care about those despicable heroes. Thinking they could run everything! Yes. I’ll show them.”

“Are you sure? Ultimates have quite the influence, we could-”

He slammed his fist down at the bar. “I WILL NOT FOLLOW IN HER FOOTSTEPS!”

His breathing was heavy, sweat came from his light blue hair, and he was scratching his neck.

“Junko Enoshima means _nothing_ to me. Hope’s Peak Academy is _nothing_ to me. Unlike her, I won’t abandon Master’s will.”

He got up from his seat and started pacing, back hunched.

“I’ll show this world what a villain really is like! Then they can forget all about Hope’s Peak. They’ll forget all about the stupid Future Foundation. That so-called Justice League. No one will be talking about All Might. And most certainly, I’ll make sure the world forgets Junko Enoshima.”

“… As you will Tomura Shigaraki.”

Confident as ever. Yes. You really are perfect. Our master will shape you into a wonderful form.

For now, though, I will simply attend to my bar.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back. I've experienced writer's block like never before. I blame Red Dead Redemption 2 and Deltarune... XD  
> Also 100+ Hits! I'm beyond honored that many people have taken a look at my fanfic.
> 
> Author's Notes:
> 
> This chapter is an intermediary chapter. I'm shedding some more light on events and characters that I want you all to know more about. Don't worry, Kyoka is still coming up and currently in progress. :)


	9. Hero Path: Talent

**Kyoka**

And now for the solo. I felt my fingers move in the repeated pattern as I dropped the pick and plucked the strings in a very fast motion. My body rhythmically bounced up and down as I kept my guitar going and the pace accelerating. It was just me and my groove, the way it should be in my room, no interruptions, no worries.

The way it _should’ve been._

“Kyokaa! My dear little sister! I got some news-”

I couldn’t even slam the door faster on him if I tried. I didn’t even move; I just extended my earlobe fast to the door, wrapped it around the handle, and whipped it close! Unfortunately for me, that little spout of his was enough to throw me off tempo and ruin my current run at the solo. Bummer. I was so certain I was going to nail it this time too!

Frustrated I stomped back on over to my door, and swung it right open. “What is it?!” I demanded in an annoyed manner.

“Wow, I never thought I’d see the day my sister got an attitude! You really are a bona fide teenager now aren’t you little sis?”

“Kokichi!”

“Yeah, yeah. It’s my fault; I knew you were in the zone and all that. To be fair you’ve gotten soo much better since I last saw you. Still, though, I think you wanna seee this!” He waved a little envelope in front of me. It had a U.A. postal stamp on it.

Finally! I’ve been waiting a _whole week_ since the exam, and it just now came in. I nabbed the envelope from his hands and dropped my guitar lightly on my bed. Kokichi followed me into my room and peered over my shoulders as I ripped it open over my desk.

This was it.

Will I be a student at U.A.? A student of the hero course?

Or did I fail?

From the envelope slid out a small mechanical disk; a small blue light illuminated revealing a projection of no one other than the Symbol of Peace himself. He was in front of a stage full glowing pink and yellow lights and a red, silky curtain.

“Whoaaa it’s All Might!! How cool!” my brother commented.

Similarly, at the same exact time, I said, “It’s All Might! Why is here there?” I also noticed that he was in a striped yellow suit accompanied with a blue tie.

“You know Steve I can really use a cup of… Wait, we’re live?!” The great hero looked quite flustered, “Ahem. It is I! As a recorded projection! And as a new member of the faculty at U.A. High School I am tasked with telling new upcoming students their results of the entrance exam!”

Wait did I hear that correctly? He’s going to be a teacher at U.A.?

“Kyoka Jiro! Congratulations on passing the hero course entrance exam! You scored a whopping 28 points! Although it wasn’t nearly the highest score we had this year, it is still very commendable. Your skills and innovation were also very highlighted; this society needs heroes who can think fast on their feet just like you!”

He was beaming with enthusiasm. I… I did it! I passed! I clenched my fists in excitement. I could barely hold it all in!

“Not only did you achieve so much, you also know how to accept help when you need it. A hero needs to know how to work well with others after all! I am also pleased to notify you that young Toru Hagakure has also passed due to our hidden rescue points! 44 points!”

He pointed at a nearby T.V. where it showed a recording of Hagakure carrying me through the battle center. “U.A. is fortunate to have talented students such as yourselves!” He heroically gave me a thumbs up, “Remember! Plus Ultra!”

And with that final advice, the projection ended.

“Good job Kyoka! I just knew you’d be able to do it! You are my little sister after all!” Kokichi said gloatingly.

“I… We gotta tell Mom and Dad!” I said frantically.

I reached over to my nightstand to find my phone exploding with texts. They were from Hagakure. It was just as All Might said. She passed as well. I honestly had no hope for the girl, but she did it! She even scored more than me due to those rescue points. I texted her back, giving a quick “congrats”, and then I dialed my Mom’s number.

“Oh sweetie! I’m so happy for you! I know you’ve been really wanting this.”

“Thanks Mom.”

And then my Dad. “That’s my baby girl! Way to go!”

“Appreciate it Dad.”

Kokichi, too, was excited. “Smell ya later sis! I got a whole organization to brag to about how amazing my little sister is!”

With newfound enthusiasm and silence, the next go was the most perfect attempt at the song. Perhaps I can indeed shred villains with my epic guitar skills! Yup. I’ll be hero, and one of the best too!

 

* * *

 

“See? I told you it starts to get crowded during the school year.” We were both stuck standing in the shuttle; it was indeed quite cramped.

“School hasn’t even started yet! Doesn’t Hope’s Peak begin tomorrow too?” I asked.

Kaede chuckled at me. “Kyoka, don’t tell me you haven’t heard of the Ultimate Ceremony?”

Holding on the railing above I gawked at her. “Of course I have, I don’t know anyone in Japan who hasn’t heard of it. It’s when the new upcoming Ultimate students are announced for… Wait that’s _today_?”

“Yup! What better way to show you Hope’s Peak Academy, eh?”

“Aren’t you going a bit overboard? Isn’t the ceremony really crowded?” I asked, a guy bumping into to me as he left the shuttle.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that. Us Ultimates, and friends, get priority seating. Though most of us tend to skip it; we want to try to avoid the attention this year.”

“You don’t mind going?”

“Nope! It’s pretty short anyway. Besides, then I’ll have the rest of the day to show you around.”

We chatted some more; it was mainly us talking about the latest music artists. There was some disparity because our music preferences differed, but we both enjoyed ourselves nevertheless. It was quite the nice surprise when Kaede called me up to congratulate me. It seems she got my number from Kokichi. And as promised, I get to check out her lab, and in turn, visit the most prestigious school in Japan, possibly in the world. Not a bad deal if I say so myself.

“Dang! It’s even taller looking when you’re this close to it. I can’t even see the top!” I exclaimed. Off the shuttle we were bypassing the long line that led into the gates into the school. Many journalists were snapping shots at me and Kaede. It reminded me of all the looks we got in the shuttle. I’m not camera shy though, I’ve had plenty of experience with my parents.

Immediately upon entering the campus, I saw that their school courtyard was completely rearranged to operate their ceremony. A wide stage was set up, and there were many students scattered around plush comfortable chairs; each of them widely different. I’d counted eighteen total.

Kaede and I found ourselves sitting in the front, makeshift row. Even though returning Ultimates got special seating, it seems as though no one in the audience was exempt from sitting on plain, white, fold-out chairs. In the section allotted for Ultimates, I only saw four other students aside from Kaede and myself.

The first of these, a tall guy with spiky maroon, purple hair, took no hesitation to introduce himself, “Hi there! I hear you’re aiming to become a hero. I, too, am aiming for the vast beyond! I am Kaito Mamota, Luminary of the Stars! But here I’m known as the Ultimate Astronaut!” He was leaning back on his chair, his one arm over it, which, interestingly enough, was out of his jacket sleeve.

“An Ultimate Astronaut? That’s pretty rad. Yeah, I just passed U.A.’s Entrance Exam. My name’s Kyoka J-” I began to reply.

Another student, a blond with goggles over her forehead interrupted me, “Yeah, yeah, get off your high horse miss lobes! We’ve heard it over and over from piano go lucky here. And we aaall know you only passed cuz of me! I know. I’m a genius!”

“Excuse me? Who the hell do you-”

“Miu! That’s no way to talk to a guest at our school! Besides, getting into U.A. isn’t easy at all!” Kaede berated her.

“Eeep! I-I just thought cuz, you know, she’s that weasel’s little sister and all tha-that-”

Kaito also spoke up, “Don’t get me wrong, Kokichi seriously rubs me the wrong way. But shouldn’t we at least give Kyoka a shot here? At least trust Kaede when she says she’s different than her brother!”

“Yeah, I’m nothing like Kokichi! And what do you mean I only passed because of you?”

“Eep! I umm... I made those boots of yours.” Miu said.

“You? _You’re the one_ who made my speaker boots?” I asked, incredulous.

“Yeah… I am after all Miu Iruma! The genius Ultimate Inventor!” Her attitude shifted back and she looked more confident in herself.  “Your brat of a brother practically came _begging_ for me to help his poor little sister out! If I didn’t know better, it was like he was hitting on me!”

“…” 

I didn’t think it was possible, but I met someone who was more tiring to talk to then my brother. I suppose there’s a first for everything. Still though, do his classmates really dislike him that much?

“Our first guest of the new school year, and we’re already giving Hope’s Peak a bad name. We fell apart pretty quick for a group that decided to be on our best behavior for Kaede’s new friend.” said a small dude wearing striped black and blue pants and a beanie with two spikes protruding from the top like horns.

“Come now Ryoma. This is simply another interesting turn of events. Humanity… is truly spectacular.” The last student was without a doubt the creepiest. He had his mouth covered by a black mask with a zipper where his mouth should be. He was a slim fellow with long, straight black hair and narrow yellow eyes. His buttoned-up jacket accompanied with a green cap made him resemble that of a military captain.

“Pardon my manners,” he continued to speak, now glancing at me, “I am Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist. It is pleasure to meet you.” He raised his bandaged hand for a handshake to which I reluctantly shook.

“And you are?” I looked over at the small guy. It looked he was playing with a… cigarette in his mouth?

“I’m Ryoma Hoshi. Although who I am doesn’t really matter anymore. An aspiring hero like yourself would be best to forget about me.”

“Ryoma!! Ah geez, don’t go in that mood again!” Kaede turned back to me and said, “Don’t listen to him. Ryoma’s actually a great guy. He’s the Ultimate Tennis Pro!”

“Former Tennis Pro…” Ryoma stated.

“C’mon man! There are no walls you can't get over! The same goes for you!” Kaito said.

“… if you say so.” Ryoma responded.

It was around this time that the public crowd began pouring in, and the school courtyard started to fill with noise of murmuring and whispering. Everyone was excited to see who the new Ultimates were. Well everyone except for the returning Ultimates themselves. Only the five I met, all of which were second years, showed up, and no third years came.

I was also intrigued by this display, the students on stage were all very different from each other and also held an aura about them. Some looked bored, others were excited, and some were just plain honored. If I had to pick one that stood out the most to me, it’d be the young man in a fancy tux and slicked back black hair. He looked younger than the rest of the students and wasn’t Japanese. American maybe?

But the hype only increased when the man of hour finally showed up to the podium: Hope’s Peak Academy’s Principal, Makoto Naegi, hero of the Tragedy. He wore a plain black suit with both the Future Foundation’s and Hope’s Peak’s insignias tacked on as pins to his collar.

“This school means the world to me. Thirteen years ago, I began and continued as the new principal here, in charge of restoring this school’s image and ushering in a new age of hope. Needless to say, as someone who’s talent is simply luck, I felt very unqualified.” He let out a small chuckle, and the rest of crowd laughed along with him.

“However my time here has shown me the hope I’ve inspired among others and the drive that carries them towards to a better future. I’ve seen many other students grow up here and help me rebuild after Junko Enoshima wrecked our world. To which I say, thank you.”

“Now today isn’t about me; it about these young students here who have proved themselves very capable and filled to the brim with talent. They have earned their titles as Ultimates and are worthy of becoming a new generation of world leaders. To which I welcome the first of these to the podium, Damian, from Gotham Academy!”

The young kid with the tuxedo walked over to podium, his head barely next to the mic.

“I’m Damian Wayne, the Ultimate Affluent Progeny.” He said callously, and walked back to his seat quickly.

“The Ultimate Affluent Progeny?” I whispered over to Kaede, “Doesn’t Togami hold that title? Can Ultimates repeat?” Byakuya Togami was one of Principal’s Naegi’s classmates that fended off Junko Enoshima back fifteen years ago. To this day he has shown the world progress and innovation like never before.

“Yes, actually, my classmate Shuichi is the Ultimate Detective. It’s possible, but it doesn’t happen very often.”

“Wow, I didn’t know.”

The principal kept going on listing other students, inviting them to the spotlight. Miro Haita, a freckled face with glasses, the Ultimate Researcher. A blonde named Tara Markov as the Ultimate Princess. A blue haired male with a cowboy hat, Arthur McCain, the Ultimate Sharpshooter. And many others. Some gave short speeches like Damian, while other students bided their time to either show off their talents or express their gratitude.

“And with that, I present to you all the new 92nd class of Hope’s Peak Academy!” Makoto Naegi announced, the crowd cheering, myself included. “But we have two more students that will join the ranks of Hope’s Peak Academy this year. As many of you know, we allow transfer students to join midway through our academic process. Here I welcome the newest member of class 91!”

The principal let the newest student show up to the podium, and out of all the rest of the students, he was the plainest looking. He had shaggy black hair, a white, buttoned-up collared shirt, and a loose black tie. If there was one thing special about his appearance, it was that his left eye was a scarlet red, like the color of blood.

“So this is our classmate, he’s kinda boring ain’t he?”

“Hush now Miu, let us hear what he has to say. Perhaps this shall be interesting. Very interesting.” Korekiyo said.

The raven-haired boy tapped the mic, and then spoke, “Hey there. My name’s Aaron Wolf. I don’t know how I’ll be able top all of this,” he motioned to the rest of class 92, “But I must say I’m pretty lucky to be surrounded by many talented people.” He paused, looking around at the crowd.

“Now I bet you’re all wondering what my Ultimate talent is.” He took a deep breath. “Sorry to disappoint though, I’m declining to reveal mine. I _hope_ you all understand.” With a wink of the eye he left the podium back to his chair.

What the heck was that all about? He declined to reveal?

“Really?! Another one?” Kaito exclaimed.

“What do you mean?” I asked him.

“It’s just that… he’ll be our third classmate who hasn’t revealed his talent to the public.”

“Really? Who are the other two?” I pried.

“Well Kyoka… one’s your brother, though he let us know his talent at class. The other is Maki. But she hasn’t told us what her talent is yet…” Kaede said.

It made sense too, would the public really be fond of knowing an Ultimate Supreme Leader exists? No, they wouldn’t. Never heard of this “Maki” though, but I suppose that’s the point.

Principal Naegi welcomed up the last of the new Ultimates, a new third-year named Claudia Fryce. She had the most brilliant, wavy red hair, despite it being cropped just before her shoulders. She wore a deep purple cloak, with an intricate pattern of vines laced throughout. She was the Ultimate Knight. If it wasn’t Hope’s Peak Academy, I would’ve scoffed at the idea of a knight. That’s ancient stuff.

“Thank you. Thank you all for believing in this school. And for believing in our program. As Principal, I vow to nurture and to grow all of these students. And to all you Reserve Course students in the crowd, I humbly thank you too for supporting your peers. You all are truly the backbone here and create a culture worthy of letting the world call us the most prestigious school. Hope doesn’t belong to just a few, everyone has the capacity for it. Ultimates are a reflection of all us and the reminder that we each have equal capability to show care, talent, and love to one another.”

The audience clapped and cheered, mostly by many teenagers with Hope’s Peak’s uniforms. I even felt myself get teary eyed there. Principal Naegi was just so genuine, so heartwarming! It’s no wonder he saved the world. He truly believes in the best in humanity!

With that, the ceremony wrapped up; the principal guided the new students into the school. The audience wanted to stay, but anyone not related to Hope’s Peak, namely journalists, were forced to leave the premises. I was left with Kaede and her classmates; it was nice getting special treatment!

“Kyoka. I am interested to hear your thoughts on the new students here.” Korekiyo said to me.

“Hmm, Damian Wayne was pretty interesting. What’s his deal?”

Miu chimed in, “Yeah, yeah! He was a little punk, wasn’t he? Are we letting in babies to the school now?”

“Weeell Kyokaa! You see he’s actually pretty closely related to Hope’s Peak. Wayne Enterprises helps fund the academy aaaall the time. And get this! Unlike his playboy of a father, he’s actually a genius! Made it into Hope’s Peak despite being only 13 years old!”

“GAH!” I turned around, to see _him_ standing there. “Kokichi! Don’t sneak up on me!”

“Oh great, look who decided to show up.” Miu said.

“So Kokichi,” Kaito said, “Is Kyoka actually your sister? Because compared to you she’s-”

“I know right!!” he responded, grabbing my cheeks, and pulling them. “Isn’t she just adoraaable?!”

I extended my earlobe high into the air and whipped it back down hard on Kokichi’s head, knocking him face first into the ground. The rest of Ultimates stared at me, dumbstruck.

“… What is it?” I asked.

Kaede was the one who answered, “It’s just that we’ve never seen someone deal with Kokichi so … easily.”

“He’s my brother. I know how to shut him up easy peasy.” I said, a small grin forming. I had no doubt that I resembled Kokichi a little bit there.

“Wow Kyoka… you’re kinda scary.”

“Heh. Thanks? Well enough of that, Kaede, don’t ya have a school to show me?” I said.

“Yeah. Yeah! You’ll have an absolute blast! There’s another third-year who’s the Ultimate Drummer as well. I bet you’ll like his lab!”

“Rad!” I looked at the other four. “It certainly was an experience. Thanks for having me.”

Kaito gave me a thumbs up. “Don’t be a stranger now Kyoka!”

Miu mockingly pointed at me. “Don’t go to another inventor for your gear! I’m your only gal, now and forever!”

“It was truly a spectacle Kyoka. I do hope you fair well in U.A... I’ll make sure to pay close attention to the events to come there.” Korekiyo creepily said.

Ryoma simply looked down, holding his beanie.

“Ugh… D-don’t mind me! I’ll, uh, just skedaddle outta here! Got some fresh 1st years to meet and tease!” Kokichi said, standing up, his forehead dripping profusely with blood. He looked quite faint. Maybe I overdid it?

Kaede sighed, “Kaito, you mind taking him the nurse’s office?”

“Yeah, sure.” He responded, wrapping my brother’s arm around his shoulder. “C’mon bud. Let’s, uhh, get you better.”

“Dear sister!! I think I’ve discovered Atlantis! There’s fish! Fish everywhere!!” Yup I totally overdid it. Just another sign as to why I need to get better as a hero.

“Let’s go Kyoka, our nurse is the best of the best! So Kokichi’ll be fine.”

I smiled back at her, confident in what she said, “Lead the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally out! Kinda. This chapter was so big, (for my tastes), I've decided to split it off into two parts. Next time, and within the week, you'll see more of Earphone Jack.
> 
> Author's Notes: This one was tricky. But every character introduced was yet another Ultimate. Coming up with some new ones was very fun and turned my creative gears. Yeah, I know, I know. Now Aaron isn't the only OC in this fanfic. But I got to make up Arthur McCain! The Ultimate Sharpshooter! His name's actually a mix between Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption 2 and Lucas McCain from The Rifleman TV show. Honestly, if you have a console, don't wait to get the game, it's a masterpiece!
> 
> As for the beloved Danganronpa protagonist, I wanted to present Makoto as more mature and endearing. He's a world leader and an adult now, so leave it up to him to give a warm welcome to the new students!


	10. Hero Path: Classmates

**Kyoka**

I looked up at the sign, and door, of the classroom, it read as “Class 1A”.  Looking back down at my school ID, which, by the way, was the most normal picture I have ever taken in my life, I confirmed I was at the right place. Yeah, this was the where I’d be spending the next year of my life, training to become a hero or a “do-gooder” as Kokichi calls them. The door itself was huge, sprawled with the number and letter that correlates with my class.

Wasting no more time, I swung the door open, and saw a couple students already here, though the majority was still missing. There was a girl with long black hair that’s tied into a ponytail and stretched over the side, a boy with spiky blond, no, yellow hair and a black lightning bolt across one of his bangs, and … great… There was also that stuck up, blue-haired guy with glasses. He was also the first one to notice the door open and marched straight up to me. I kid you not, he looked like a mini soldier as he was walking.

“Good morning! I attended Somei Private Academy. My name is Tenya Iida.” After finishing his introduction, he pushed his glasses against his nose-bridge, despite there being no need for him to do so.

Ugh, he’s so dang formal. Suppose I’d return the favor though, I too, was pretty early in coming to class after all. It’s all about first impressions in the hero business; I gotta start the semester right.

“Morning, Iida. My name’s Kyoka Jiro.” I paused, placing a finger on my lip, a habit I’ve picked up from my brother, “You don’t happen to know how the seats are arranged, do you? I’m seat number 12.”

“Oh, oh! That’s right next to me! Over here!” The lightning-bolt guy waved me over.

Plopping my stuff down at my new desk, I examined the demeanor of the yellow-haired kid. He had this big grin and goofy look in his eyes. He looked hopelessly _too_ happy to be here. “So Kyoka-”

“Call me Jiro, please.” From what I’ve read, UA’s culture is to refer to all students and faculty by their last names. Baby steps after all. It gave a much different vibe than Hope’s Peak, but it was the same as my middle school, so it didn’t bother me much.

“So Jiro! What’s your quirk like? I betcha it has something to do with those big earlobes of yours doesn’t it?” Is he trying to annoy me? No… wait he’s actually simply being sincere. Dang, I was right on the money; this guy really is a goofball!

“ _Of course_ my quirk has-”

I was interrupted by a slap to the back of the head. Not my head, thank goodness, but rather _his._ That black-haired girl from the corner of the room got up and hit him.

“Kaminari, you’re supposed to introduce yourself first, talk about your quirks later!” she lectured, “Honestly, it’s the first the day of class, and this guy is so hopeless, isn’t he Jiro? Ah, my name is Momo Yaoyorozu.”

Ha! I had to suppress a giggle. This girl was so serious and intelligent sounding all the while making this Kaminari guy look like a fool. I like her style!

“Ah, knock it off would you!” he said, rubbing his head. “I was getting there! My name’s Denki Kaminari! And look here, one day I’m going to be the coolest hero!” Note that he said ‘coolest’, not ‘best’.  I’m already getting a big idea on what type of person he was.

“That’s nice.” I responded emotionlessly and uninterested. But, boy, this kid couldn’t take a cue. He kept talking my ear off for the next five minutes. I suppose this is what I get for getting here early. Only when my new classmates came in, I was relieved of his presence, and I saw the familiar pattern of Iida going up to introduce himself. Kaminari also was eager to see what everyone’s quirk was like, but it took both Yaoyorozu and I to finally calm the guy down to a somewhat less enthusiastic, bubbly state of mind.

All in all, my senses were overwhelmed by the many personalities and differences of the new students. There was a guy who looked like a crow, he even had a beak! His name was Tokoyami, and he seemed pretty quiet. There was a girl named Mina Ashido who had pink skin and hair; she was also very unusual looking, but unlike crow guy, she had a very loud personality. The more I think about it, she’s pretty similar to Kaminari. And don’t even get me started on Mineta. Two seconds from meeting him, and I could already understand what a little perv he was!

“Jiro!!” Turning around, eager to get away from the creep, I noticed a familiar face, or lack of one.

“Hagakure! We’re in the same class, huh?”

“Yeah, isn’t that totally awesome!”

“It sure is!” I replied.

But before I could even begin a decent conversation, a scary looking blond boy approached the two of us and said, “That’s my seat. MOVE IT!”

“Ah! S-sorry!” Hagakure shrieked, and moved around him, sitting quickly in the seat in front of him.

Mr. Baggy Pants, sitting in the seat next to me, put his feet up on the desk. If cocky was personified, it would be this guy. He sure was full of himself!

To my annoyance, Iida marched over to this new guy and began to berate the bed-head blond on how it was ‘disrespectable’ to have feet on desks. Which it kinda’ve is, but let’s be real, how can Iida be shocked when he found out the blond kid couldn’t care less? That being said, it was quite the entertainment to see these two bicker amongst each other.

The show was promptly interrupted by yet another newcomer to the class, that curly, green-haired kid that Iida called out in the amphitheater. As usual, Iida went to introduce himself, and said some apologetic stuff, in his own way. The green-haired boy with freckles’ name was Midoriya, and he was very nervous looking. I was honestly surprised he made it into U.A., the kid doesn’t look like much. Behind him appeared the last of my classmates, another energetic girl, this time with reddish auburn hair and rosy cheeks. Midoriya was, very, very flustered upon seeing her, his skin turning a bright shade of red. She was waving her fist up and down spouting some stuff, and Midoriya was mumbling faintly.

“Go somewhere else if you want to play at being friends. This is the hero course.”

Peeling my eyes down from the trio of Iida, Midoriya, and Rosy Cheeks, I saw a man with long black hair zipped up in a yellow sleeping bag lying on the floor right behind them. It was the creepiest thing I’ve seen here at this school so far, even more so than Mineta! He pulled out squeeze up applesauce container and slurped the rest up before standing up and discarding his sleeping bag. He revealed to have wrappings all around his neck and shoulders.

“Okay, it took eight seconds before you were quiet. Time is limited. You kids are not rational enough.” He glanced around to the rest of the class, and stated, “I’m your homeroom teacher, Shota Aizawa.”

Oh. _Oh_. This guy’s my homeroom teacher?! That’d mean he’d be a pro-hero, but he certainly didn’t look the part, having sleepy eyes and plain black attire. Not gonna lie, I’m kinda disappointed I didn’t get All Might.

“It’s kind of sudden, but put this on and go out onto the field.” Mr. Aizawa stated, lifting up a gym uniform, and then throwing a duffel bag on Yuga Aoyama’s desk; he’s a bright blond kid with eyes that seem to sparkle unnaturally. He was another bizarre one.

Our homeroom teacher left us all alone, and one by one we each grabbed a uniform and went to go change in the school restrooms.

 

* * *

 

Outside, the class gathered on a big open field of track dirt. Upon seeing the entirety of the class, Mr. Aizawa then bluntly stated we were going to do a “Quirk assessment test” to which we all echoed and shouted back at him. It was quite the surprise, normally schools begin the school year with a class orientation, usually passing out notes and curriculum discussing about them. But then again, U.A. isn’t a normal high school.

Rosy cheeks, now known to me as Ochako Uraraka, said, “What about the entrance ceremony? The orientation?”

“If you’re going to become a hero, you don’t have time for such leisurely events.” our teacher replied, “U.A.’s selling point is how unrestricted its school traditions are. That’s also how the teachers run their classes.”

“You lot have been doing these since junior high, too, right?” Aizawa then lifted his phone up to us, showing us graphs and bullet points. “Physical fitness tests where you weren’t allowed to use your quirks. Japan still uses averages taken from results from students not using them. It’s not rational and it’s old-fashioned. It should’ve been replaced immediately following the Tragedy, but, well, our Ministry of Education is procrastinating.”

“Bakugo, you finished at the top of the practical exam, right? In junior high, what the farthest you’ve thrown in the baseball throw?” Our teacher asked, blinking his tired looking eyes.

Bedhead Blond responded, saying, “67 meters.” So that’s the name of the baggy-pants kid, Bakugo. And he scored highest of the practical exam? Duly noted. He looks menacing, and it turns out he is too.

This was only affirmed more when he took the baseball and sent it soaring through the air, yelling “DIE!” He used his quirk, and I heard a loud boom and saw a big explosion. The impact waves caused my hair and earlobes to flutter. Scary. What a quirk!

Our teacher used this opportunity to speak, “Know your own maximum first. That is the most rational way to begin your journey as a hero.” He showed us his cell phone, and the results were clear: Bakugo threw the ball 750 meters.

“750 meters? Seriously?” Kaminari exclaimed

Mina Ashido clapped her pink hands together and said, “What’s this? It looks fun!”

“We can use our quirks as much as we want! As expected from the hero course!” exclaimed Tape Elbows.

“‘It looks fun,’ huh?” Mr. Aizawa’s mood suddenly became darker and more serious, “You have only three years to become a hero. I wonder… will you have that type of attitude the whole time? All right then. Whoever comes in last place accumulatively from all of the tests will be judged to have no potential and will be punished with _expulsion_.”

Expulsion… Mr. Aizawa let that word sink into the rest of the class. And myself of course. Crap. This isn’t good. Not at all. My quirk isn’t useful for things like physical tests. Sure my earlobes are strong, and I have very good control of them, but the real strength comes from my sensory skills and ability to cause shockwaves. And of course this morning I told myself, “It’s okay Kyoka! It’s just the first daay Kyoka! You don’t need your speaker boots at all. It’s only orientation day after all!” What a _joke._ I might leave U.A. after my first day. So much for becoming a hero and showing up big bro.

Well… maybe it’s not so bad after all. I glanced over at Hagakure. Her quirk is only invisibility. Breath Kyoka… you should be able to outmaneuver her at least. I do have more of quirk advantage. It sucks that we have to compete, but I’m not letting go of my dream that easily!

“Welcome to U.A.’s Hero course!” our teacher said, pushing his long bangs out of his eyes to stare the rest of us down.

It didn’t take long for one of us, Uraraka, to object though, “Last place will be expelled? But it’s the first day of school! No even if it wasn’t the first day of school, this is too unfa-”

Mr. Aizawa interrupted her, “Natural disasters, big accidents, selfish villains… _Junko Enoshima._ Calamities whose time or place can’t be predicted. Japan, the world itself, is covered with unfairness. And despite what the Future Foundation says, it’s covered with despair too. Heroes are the ones who reverse those despicable situations. If you wanted to go and ‘hang out’ after school at the new Batburger down the street, too bad.”

My mind immediately flashed back to what my brother said two weeks ago, “ _I’m just saying sis, I’ve seen some preetty nasty things in the world, and heroes tackle them all. You’d be facing all of that._ ”

The class was captivated by what he was saying, “For the next three years U.A will do all it can to give you one hardship after another. So go beyond. Plus Ultra.” Aizawa wiggled his finger at us, motioning for us to, “Overcome it with all you’ve got.”

And so began the quirk assessment test.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I meant for this one to come out a lot sooner, but ya' know college finals, projects, and all that fun stuff. Next time will be Shuichi!  
> Author's Notes: This chapter had a lot of canon in it, but I also wanted to represent the characters in my own way. We're finally diving into more of the cast, and I have to say, I'm excited for what that means in the future! Also, yeah, I left on a 'cliffhanger'. Bite me.


	11. Detective Path: Freehands and Figurines

**Shuichi**

“Calm down? I am calm! If there’s anything you’ve taught me, it’s how to be calm. And what I’m asking you is reasonable too. So why don’t you spill the beans already?” I demanded.

“Shuichi… You know I can’t do that. That information is classifie-”

“Classified this, classified that. You _know_ I’m trustworthy! So please, give me a chance. I want to know what’s going on. It’s my classmates I’m talking about here.”

I tapped my foot aggressively against the black and white floor tiles. Staring into my mentor’s eyes, I showed no sign of backing down. It’s funny actually, Kyoko Kirigiri never really taught me how to be calm, I did that myself. What she did teach me was how to show tenacity and authority. Detectives need to pride themselves in their work, to show others without fail their reasoning and logic. To embrace their own truth.

Lead Agent Kirigiri closed her eyes. She sat in her desk chair and had her arms crossed. The Ultimate Detective’s academy office was brightly lit by long fluorescent lights, and the smell of coffee lingered from her mug which had a derpy picture of our principal on the side.

She opened her eyes and pulled from one of her drawers a Future Foundation form. “Sign this then, Shuichi. And you know the drill, I’ll be recording this conversation.”

I quickly signed the form and didn’t even bother reading it. Kirigiri has asked for my help in secret Future Foundation cases in the past, but because I’m not their agent, I need to fill out non-disclosure agreements.

“Alright. Are you going to tell me now? What’s going on with Rantaro? What’s Hope’s Peak’s plans with the criminal Kid Col?” I asked. I needed answers. It’s been a whole week, and I haven’t heard from back from Rantaro yet. And not knowing… well, let’s just say sometimes it drives a detective a little crazy.

My predecessor looked at me, eyes full of understanding. “A week ago Rantaro was honing his skills as the Ultimate Adventurer in Gotham City. As part of his internship, he was tasked with surveying the area and seeing the implications of Batman and how the vigilante affected the city as of lately.”

I raised an eyebrow. “Rantaro… he’s a Future Foundation operative?”

“Astute as ever. Glad to see you’re keeping your wits sharpened. The night he texted you, he did so without realizing I also happened to be in the city. I was testing him you see. It was smart of him to rely on his peer, especially you. Unfortunately, two unexpected things happened that night.”

She raised her gloved hand up showing two fingers. “First, and coincidently, scouting interest Aaron Wolf, AKA Kid Col, AKA your new classmate, stole Rantaro’s belongings that night. I discovered this quickly and tracked the young man down, and pitched the idea of him joining Hope’s Peak Academy. Aaron has elected not to reveal his talent, so do not speak of this to others.”

I figured as much. “So… how come Rantaro hasn’t contacted me yet?”

“That’s the second unprecedented thing that happened. A band of Gotham lowlifes kidnapped him and held him captive.”

“He was _what?!_ Is he okay?!” I exclaimed.

“He’s recovering in the hospital as we speak, but he’ll be fine. He has a broken arm, but it will heal up in time. Thankfully I was able to analyze the crime scene of where he was taken. With the help of the GCPD, I led an operation to reclaim our lost agent… I should also mention that Kid Col played a part in helping, though indirectly speaking.”

I sighed in relief. He’s okay, that’s good news. But… “Why was Rantaro kidnapped in the first place?”

Kirigiri paused, biding her time before answering me. “Hmm, if I had to suppose, it’d be because of Rantaro’s lime green hair. The Joker very much doesn’t like imposters.”

…Interesting. It was barely noticeable, but I could tell. She lied just there. She is my mentor after all; you learn to pick up cues like that after working together for a long time. But I also trust her; if she has a good reason for not telling me, I’d rather not pry. Despite how much not knowing irritates me, at least I know Rantaro is safe.

“Oh and Shuichi?”

“Yeah?”

“Since we’re already recording, you interested in taking a case? You’d be taking a load off me, and it’d be a good experience for you. This one might take you a while. You probably won’t be done until after school starts.”

I tipped my hat down and grinned back at her. “That sounds wonderful.”

She nodded at me, “Good, well take a seat, I’ll need some time to debrief you.”

I did so graciously and nabbed a mint from the pile she always keeps on her desk. It’s been a couple months since I’ve taken a Future Foundation case, but I’m more than up to the task.

“Alright, Ultimate Detective. Let us begin.”

 

* * *

 

“Shuichi.”

“Mmph. Goo away.”

“SHUICHI.”

I snorted and looked up to see my uncle staring at me.

“Come on kiddo, don’t tell me you’ve been working all night again.”

Oops I fell asleep on my desk over yet another night.

“… I haven’t been working all night agai-”

“Haha. Very funny. Now get up.”

“Uhh… why?” Weird. My uncle never wakes me up this early. Surely he of all people knows what it’s like working hard into a case. I need my sleep, as bad as my internal clock is.

He ignored my question and instead looked over my shoulder. “That case has been giving you some trouble, huh? You sure you don’t need any help?”

“I can’t,” I said, rubbing my eyes, “It’s classified.” I then proceeded to shuffle my papers messily into their respective folder.

“You’re a real stickler for rules aren’t ya kid? Anyhow… aren’t you forgetting something important?”

“Umm… no. There isn’t anything I can think of.”

“Are you _suure_?”

Now he’s taunting me. Great. My uncle always teases me if I miss something, but at least he’s not nearly as bad Kokichi. At school Kokichi always comes up with… At school. _At school. It’s the first day of school._

“Oh crap.”

My uncle grinned at me. “Better get goin’!”

I took the next five minutes to hastily get dressed in my school uniform: a brown suit jacket with a white collared shirt and a red tie. Thankfully, hats are allowed. I stuffed the case folder into my messenger bag and rushed outside, breezing past my uncle and almost spilling his coffee.

I made it over to the shuttle stop and leaned against my knees panting. Man… I haven’t worked up a sweat like that in a while! Maybe I should start working out with Kaito again.

Luckily for me, the shuttle came seconds later. Unluckily, there were no spots left for seating, and I was left standing in the middle of many brown and gray uniforms. Hope’s Peak and U.A. both start today, and many students use the shuttles for the commute. It’s such a hassle, it’s why I prefer the dorms on campus, but that Future Foundation case has kept me so busy that I forgot to pack. Guess I’ll worry about that later.

Hanging onto the railing above, I noticed a kid mumbling in front of me, holding a notebook. He had a gray uniform, meaning he goes to U.A., and other features that stuck out was his messy green hair and freckles. The notebook had details on various heroes like Endeavor and Aquaman. That page, in particular, was a made up scenario if the two were to ever fight each other.

“Umm. Excuse me? You’re staring into my notes.” The boy said.

“Sorry, force of habit. I like analyzing things.” I apologized.

“M-me too! So, uh, you go to Hope’s Peak? What made you go there?” He must be assuming I’m with the reserve course.

“I’m the Ultimate Detective.”

“ _You’re the Ulti-_ ”

“Shhh! Not so loud.” I glanced around, but not many people noticed. A couple of Hope’s Peak’s 2nd and 3rd years chuckled a little, but they’re already used to seeing us Ultimates. The reserve course is really something special. Despite being in the shadow of the Ultimate main course, they know how to treat us right, as fellow students and peers. I’m glad they didn’t make a big show of my appearance.

“Right. Umm sorry.”

“It’s all good, I’m just tired.” I sighed. “The names Shuichi Saihara by the way.”

“I’m Izuku Midoriya. N-nice to meet you.” This particular student was nerve-wracked; it seems he isn’t used to seeing a celebrity like myself, even if I’m one of the lesser known Ultimates.

“So Izuku, what’s your quirk like? It’s got to be good if U.A. accepted you.”

“Oh! I can… umm…” He looked back down at his notebook, muttering gibberish. It looked as if he was having a hard time telling me.

“Uh, Izuku?”

“IcancontainalotofpowerandreleaseitbutifIreleaseitIhurtmyselfrealbad.” He spurted out.

“…Sure.” I caught some of that, but what was more intriguing was his demeanor in explaining it. Perhaps he thinks I’m interrogating him?

“So do you have a quirk? Does it help you with being a detective?”

Wow, I haven’t thought of my quirk in a while. He was also quick to switch the topic from himself to me. “It doesn’t really help me, but my quirk is called Freehands.” I replied.

Izuku started scribbling immediately in his blue notebook: first drawing a rough sketch of me, which was surprising really good, and then labeling the page with my name and my quirk.

He looked up eagerly at me and asked, “What’s it do?”

I chuckled. Instead of telling the green-haired kid, I demonstrated the superpower. I put my left hand over my right hand and painlessly pulled it off of my wrist. With his eyes gawking, I wriggled my fingers, despite it no longer being attached to my body.

“Pretty useless, I know right?” I said, attaching my hand back to the wrist. “But I can do that with both hands, and I can feel and control them from any distance. Though admittedly I prefer them attached.”

Instead of commenting, Midoriya continued to write furiously into his notebook, describing every detail. It reminds me of how I used to analyze my first cases on the streets before I got my tablet out to help me.

He seemed so caught up in his notes, he didn’t even realize that the shuttle arrived at U.A. “Hey Midoriya, I think your stop’s here.”

He looked up, flustered. “Oh! Thanks!” He jammed his notebook into his backpack and hurried out of the shuttle. I don’t think he’s the type of person I’d want saving me, he’s way too nervous and not confident in public. It’s likely he’s in U.A.’s general course, not their hero course. Wish I talked to him more, then I’d know for sure.

Happily taking his seat, I took out my tablet and started reviewing the Future Foundation case again, at least my short summary of it. Throughout the city and surrounding areas graves have been robbed sporadically. The entire corpses disappeared and there’s often little trace of who was there at the crime scene. There’s no indication of where they’re disappearing to, and the police department has had no luck anticipating where they, whoever ‘they’ are, will strike next.

That’s my job, but I have to be certain of where they’ll go next. I can’t waste police or Future Foundation forces unless there’s an absolute guarantee that the suspect, or suspects, will be there. Even then, I have to show and back up my claims if I desire their help, and I got to do so in a timely matter if I’d want to catch the culprits.

That’s… actually really tough. Kirigiri was right, this case is taking me a while. There’s already been two grave robberies since I took it on and both times I anticipated the wrong crime scene.

What’s even worse, I only got two leads on this case. One, the graves are completely deprived of. No special jewelry, no flowers, no body; everything is taken. Two, the deceased taken have all died during the events of the Tragedy.

That doesn’t narrow the list down at all…

And the idea, the mystery of it all was _enthralling_. I needed to crack this case, to show my mettle and resolve. I need to reach the truth. It being so veiled, so far away from me was tantalizing. And I _know_ I’m missing something. Something right within reach.

 

* * *

 

“Aaand one for you! Ah, lucky! Of course the Ultimate Detective would get Batman!”

I held the action figure in my hand, moving it back and forth, analyzing its colors. It was Batman when he first began as a vigilante, a blue cowl coupled with gray tights and a bright yellow utility belt. And don’t forget the ‘underwear’.

“So, Rantaro? Is this your souvenir gift?” I asked unimpressed. We were standing right outside our classroom and he was waiting with a big bag of all these unopened figurines. Rantaro also had a big medical cast over his right arm.

“What? Don’t tell me you don’t like Batman!”

“No, I appreciate the gesture Rantaro… but you do realize that a Batburger opened down the street from here, right?”

For a split second, the Ultimate Adventurer looked heartbroken. Composing himself he said, “R-really? Huh, I didn’t know! Guess you can brag about how you have a genuine one from Gotham though!”

Yeah. As ‘genuine’ as fast-food chains can be I suppose.

“Anyway, how are you holding up?” I asked him. “I haven’t heard from you since you texted me. I only know what Kirigiri told me.”

“I’m fine. You know me. Always getting into some sort of mess!”

“Rantaro. You were _kidnapped_.”

He raised his left arm in defense and tried to do so with his casted arm as well. “Sorry Shuichi. Can’t tell you more. Would if I could.”

I raised an eyebrow curiously. Kirigiri also donned to not tell me the specifics of his kidnapping, but through a much more careful lie last week.

“SHUICHI!”

“Oof!”

A split second later my hat was knocked off and I was caught in a headlock. The famous noogie as performed my pal Kaito Mamota. This time was a bit more… aggressive than usual.

“Bro! _Where_ have you been? I think I’ve seen _everybody_ over break ‘cept for you. What’s the deal man?!”

“Kai-Kaito you’re cho-choking m-me!” I said while gasping for air.

“Sorry Kaito, I had some trouble in Gotham, probably should’ve told everybody.” Rantaro responded, knowing fully that the question was originally addressed to me.

Kaito loosened his grip, letting me free. “Dude. Rantaro. What happened to your arm man?”

Rantaro shook his head. “Gotham happened Kaito, _Gotham happened._ Savages, all of them.”

“Oh c’moon. You know we’re not all bad. Some of us… just look out for others in a different type of way.”

I adorned my hat and turned to see an unfamiliar face. Normal deduction, though, showed me exactly who just spoke. Aaron Wolf wore his school uniform casually and his white shirt was left untucked. Instead of our typical red tie, he chose to have a loose, thin black tie. He had shaggy black hair, but one strip in particular was a bit darker than the rest. It was faint, but ever so noticeable to my watchful eye. Speaking of eyes, his left eye was a crimson red, almost like wine… or blood.

This is him. The new transfer student: The Ultimate Thief.

Rantaro tensed up and looked very annoyed. I can’t say I blame him. “I know… I just didn’t have a pleasant experience is all. I’m sure you of all people understand.”

“Oh! You’re the new guy right?” Kaito jumped in, oblivious to the tension. “I’m Kaito Momota. Luminary of the Stars!” He pointed at himself confidently with his thumb. “Pleasure to meet’cha!”

Aaron chuckled and turned his attention to my best friend. “Same here, Kaito. I think I saw you at the Ultimate Ceremony. Luminary of the Stars? You the Ultimate Astronomer?”

“I might as well be! I’m the Ultimate Astronaut!”

Aaron whistled, “Wow. I don’t think I’ll ever have the commitment for something like that.”

“Hmm, are you from Gotham? Earlier you sounded like you came from there.” I inquired, though already knowing the answer.

“Yeah I am. Oh. Oops, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Aaron Wolf. Nice to meet you three. And you’re…?” He extended a hand.

I shook it, answering, “Shuichi Saihara. The Ultimate Detective.” I made sure my grip was firm. His was more carefree and nonchalant, but it tightened when he heard me mention my talent.

“I thought Kyoko Kirigiri was the Ultimate Detective.” Aaron stated.

I shrugged, releasing the handshake. “Ultimate talents can repeat. It doesn’t happen often.”

“Oh… just like Damian Wayne, that little, rich know-it-all!” Aaron spouted with obvious disgust.

“So Aaron! What’s your Ultimate talent man?” Kaito asked.

Rantaro also spoke. “Yes… I’m curious as well.” He was glaring at Aaron.

“Sorry guys, I’m not telling. Personal choice. Maybe in the future.”

Kaito sighed, “You too, huh? Oh well, I bet Shuichi here can figure it out!”

“I’m definitely capable.”

“Rantaro! I almost forgot! What’s in that big bag? It’s been bugging me since I got here.” Kaito questioned.

“You know me, a little gift from-”

An idea popped into my head. It was brilliant and cocky. And very much unlike myself. Perhaps Kokichi has influenced me too much over the past year?

“Hold on Rantaro. You mind if I pick one for our new classmate?”

“…Sure Shuichi. Go for it.”

“Okay guys, these are the genuine ‘real deal’ Gotham Bat-Mite figures!” I said sarcastically, rummaging through the bag. Where is it? I’ll be bummed if it’s not there.

“Ya’know, I lived in Gotham. I probably don’t need yet another one of those things.” Aaron said.

“Yeah. And Rantaro? There’s a new Batburger that opened up down the road, bro.” said Kaito.

“Ugh. Yeah, _I heard._ ”

Yes! I found the figurine I was looking for. There were actually two of them. I unwrapped one from the bag and handed it over to Aaron. It was a figure of his secret counterpart: Kid Col.

“There we go. I think that one _suits you_ _perfectly_.” I said and tipped my hat forward. The habit’s returning now that I’ve been wearing it more regularly.

Aaron looked at the figure and then at me. I only smirked back, secretly revealing what I knew about my new fellow classmate. He was likely shocked, but he masked his emotions with the ease of a professional gambler.

“Whoa, who’s that guy? I’ve never seen him before.” Kaito asked.

Rantaro answered, saying, “That’s Kid Col. Word is he’s just a rotten thief who terrorizes Gotham, stealing normal stuff like _wallets_.” He said so while glaring still at Aaron.

“Hehe…Well I lived in Gotham. He’s not nearly as lame as a normal pickpocket. Kid Col has pulled off some crazy heists, even fooling Batman!” Aaron countered. “But he’s not all that evil though. The true villains are Joker. And Two-Face. And Penguin. And Mr. Freeze. Aand Riddler. And-”

“Okay, okay! I was just asking. Geez.” Kaito said. He proceeded to throw his hand in the bag and randomly picked a Robin figurine. “Hey Shuichi check it out! I’m the sidekick! Did you get Batman?”

I held it up to him. “I sure did!”

“Heh, isn’t that something? Though personally, I think the roles should be reversed. Can you imagine a world where you’re the sidekick instead? I bet I’d kick ass and win all the time!”

“Ooorrr you’d just diiie.” Kokichi said. He approached us with his hands behind back. He too was in uniform, but instead of a tie, he wore his favorite checkered bandana around his neck and over the jacket. He also had gauze taped over his forehead.

“Really Kokichi? Maybe I should’ve just left you bleeding yesterday.”

“Oh come now Kaito! Surely you can recognize a jest when you hear one! Oh, wait, nevermind. It is you we’re talking about after all; you’re way too brain-dead for something so trivial!”

Kaito took a step forward and put his fist in the air. “What the hell did you to just say?!”

I sighed, “Kaito. He’s just trying to provoke you. Like usual.”

Kokichi ignored the Ultimate Astronaut looking past him to Aaron. “Sooo… you’re our new classmate riiiight? The Ultimate… Wait! I shouldn’t say. You _do_ want that to be a secret, don’t you… Aaron?”

“…Yeah. I do.” Aaron, a bit unnerved, stuck his hands into his pockets. “Your name’s Kokichi?”

“Indeed! I am Kokichi Oma! The Ultimate Supreme Leader!! My organization is moments away from conquering the world! So bow before my splendor!!”

“Uhh…”

“Yeah, don’t bother taking anything he says seriously Aaron.” I told him. “Kokichi is a nonstop liar and prankster.”

“GASP. Again Shuichi?! I thought you knew me better! WAAAAH!” It must be an art, because like always, he summoned those fake tears out of nowhere.

Rantaro picked up a figure and tossed it at the Supreme Leader. “This one’s just for you Kokichi.”

Kokichi’s mood brightened and he said, “Teehee. You know me so well Rantaro! But Joker isn’t nearly as impressive as I am. By the way… how’s your arm doing.? It looks pretty baad.”

“How’s your forehead?”

“Hmph. Touché.”

“Soo.” Aaron began, “Are we going to just stand around out here? Or… I dunno? Head inside?”

Kaito looked past us all and I noticed another one of our classmates approaching us in the hallway. “Oh look it’s Maki! Heeey! MAKI GIRL! Come over here!”

Maki had her dark auburn hair, with crudely cut bangs, tied into long pigtails that stretched to her ankles. She wore a vest beneath her school jacket and had on red leggings beneath her skirt. Her crimson eyes bore into Kaito with an intense glare.

“Do you want to die?” she said to my best friend. Her signature catchphrase.

Her gaze shifted to each of us one by one until it landed upon Aaron. She stopped dead in her tracks as she stared at our new classmate.

With a small whisper she said, “Aaron..?”

I saw the Ultimate Thief’s eyes widen in shock. He took a small step forward to my classmate, the Ultimate with the unknown talent.

“M-Mary?!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everybody! Thanks once again for reading my fanfic! I really do hope you're enjoying it. I wanted to get this out on the first day of the year, and it looks like I succeeded! **Happy New Year Everybody!!** Aaron's next to the show!
> 
> Chapter Notes:  
> (I'm changing it from Author's Notes because I find it more fitting.)  
> I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was for this chapter. I had this planned for a while, so it when it was finally time to get it written, I had a blast! Aaron: my OC, Shuichi: the POV, Rantaro: the victim of thievery, and Kaito: the unaware happy guy. Oh and another cliffhanger. How about that...


	12. Thief Path: Making Friends?

**Aaron**

“Get back here you brat!!”

I kept running. Hand clenched around stashes of cash, money flittering from the wind I darted around corner and corner, into alleys and darker alleys.

I got to get away! Kylee’s counting on me!

I heard loud cracking sounds, the sound of gunfire. I’ve heard it all the time growing up in Gotham, but this is the first time I’ve ever heard it _directed at me._

Normally I would’ve stopped terrified. But my determination kept my legs moving. I only had one thought, “Maybe this is enough. Maybe she’ll get better.”

That is until I reached a dead end. I looked everywhere for an escape route, but there was nowhere to go.

My back against the tough brick wall, I slumped down, my breathing hard and full of horrible anxiety.

Maybe I’ll beg for mercy.

The man came quickly around the corner and whipped his gun forward. I stared into the metallic barrel that was directed at me.

He looked very, very, pissed off. I held my breath awaiting the end. You can’t change the mind of someone with that type of hateful face.

It was quiet for a moment. He just stared forward, anger molding into confusion and then frustration.

“Damnit!” he raised the handgun in the air and started firing. The echo from the noise bounced off the walls back and forth. “I KNOW YOU’RE HERE SOMEWHERE KID! JUST WAIT TILL I FIND YOU!!”

He backed away and then continued sprinting away. He shoulda saw me. But he… didn’t?

I realized that I held my breath for a long time, so I exhaled.

Or I thought I did. But I couldn’t breathe. In or out. And that sensation was _everywhere._

I looked at my hand, at my body, but I didn’t see anything. Just the feeling of wind blowing at me. I tried to call out. To scream. But air alone doesn’t produce that type of noise. So in silence I floated there, until fading into unconsciousness.

* * *

“Tt. Get out of my way.”

So this how my first day in Hope’s Peak Academy would start off. I’d run into the one person I didn’t want to see. Damian Wayne. The little brat who gave me nothing but evil glares at the Ultimate Ceremony yesterday. I bet he’s all riled up that he isn’t the only Ultimate from Gotham. It also doesn’t help that I hate his dad.

“Wow. You’re just as snotty as I thought you would be. Come on. Aren’t we both Ultimates? From Gotham no less?” I told him.

“You’re nothing compared to me, Wolf. You’re just a coward afraid to reveal his talent. You’re scum, no other reason why I never heard of you before.”

“And you just live it rich off daddy’s money! As if you really earned your way into Hope’s Peak!”

“Hmph. I don’t have time to waste on the likes of you.”

“Right. Because you help out soo much. You know what? You’re just like your pathetic father. Playing rich and important while the rest of the city rots! Like him, you’re a parasite to Gotham City!”

“You don’t know the first thing about my father! Or the lengths he goes for Gotham!” He walked up close to me and got close to my face. Well as close as he could due to his height.

“Yeah. Sure, _Wayne_. Keep telling yourself that.”

I bumped into his shoulder and kept walking forward. The nerve of that guy! He thinks he deserves the whole world to just fall into his shoulders, doesn’t he?! Well not everyone can afford that luxury. Sometimes we just have to rise up and take what we want. Entitled assholes like him will never understand that.

But… I don’t even know what I want anymore. Especially now that my life isn’t my own anymore. Another dilemma I’d rather not think about. For now, let’s just bask in the knowledge that I became an Ultimate Student, a person with almost limitless resources and a custom designed lab solely for fine-tuning my… particular skill set. A lab in which I’ve yet to check out. Maybe later.

Oh well, I can’t just let one bad encounter with a Hope’s Peak student ruin my day. _It is Damian Wayne_ after all! It’s not like my actual classmates are that bad. Right? I’ve got a good day ahead of me, no more surprises, and my dazzling first impressions are on their way! Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts, Boy Thief of Gotham.

These “happy thoughts” dissipated quickly. Too quickly. It didn’t help that that one of the first people I met from my class happened to be the same person I stole from two weeks ago. Gee thanks Kirigiri! It doesn’t help that you _obviously_ briefed FF Intern Rantaro Amani about my identity and circumstances and _failed to tell me so!_ I didn’t even get the chance to… ah hell, who am I kidding?! As if I’d actually apologize! It was just too easy! That being said, as pissed off as he looks, he, uh, seems like the type to get over it. I hope. At least he’s not dead though. No thanks to me...

As unnerved as I was around the lime-haired adventurer, I made sure to keep up pretenses for the other two students that were around. The first had a wicked goatee paired with purple-maroon hair that reached for the heavens. He also only had one of his arms out of his school jacket sleeve. Kaito Mamota, unlike Rantaro, was genuinely happy to have me apart of his class. I liked him. Friendly, passionate, and ambitious about his goal as an astronaut, which is way more work than I would ever try to do.

The other student was a much harder read. He had blueish turquoise hair, but that was hard to tell under his worn-looking cap that had a couple of white lines and a star pin. The hat looked completely out of place to the rest of Hope’s Peak’s brown and red uniform, but who am I to judge? It isn’t like I’m bothering much with dress code. He seemed alright until he told me who he was.

Whilst shaking hands he introduced himself as, “Shuichi Saihara. The Ultimate Detective.”

 _Wha-What?! Detective! He’s a detective?! Like Kirigiri?!_ My hand gripped tighter as I internally processed what he told. But fortunately for me, my internal habitual acting turned up the dial, and I played the “new mysterious/friendly student” vibe.

Relax Aaron. It’s not as if he knows who you ar-

“I think that one _suits you_ _perfectly_.” Shuichi said, tipping his hat forward.

He handed me a Kid Col figure. My villainous self.

_AAAAAAAAAAAAA CRAP CRAP $@!# #@!% $%#!_

He grinned at me, leaving no doubt in my mind that Shuichi figured out my identity as a thief. Leave it to the Ultimate Detective to solve that. Huh. Thankfully, even though I was internally screaming, my poker face didn’t change at all. It was probably due to “Aaron.exe stopped working”. I think Shuichi seriously broke my mind right then and there.

He also earned some mad points in my book. That, as terrifying as it was for me, was perfectly executed in the most epic of proportions. Better play nice around the detective from now on. Remember… good impressions Aaron.

A new student came on by. Definitely sketchy. With his purple hair and checkered bandana, this short guy, while not as short as Wayne, grinned like an elementary school student: mischievous.

After messing with Kaito, not cool, he peered at me and said, “Sooo… you’re our new classmate riiiight? The Ultimate… Wait! I shouldn’t say. You _do_ want that to be a secret, don’t you… Aaron?”

Oh no. Not again. Please for the love of _everything,_ don’t tell me another Ultimate has figured out who I am! And what’s more, this Kokichi Oma declared that he was the Ultimate Supreme Leader. That he’s going to “conquer the world”. Umm, what the hell?

“Yeah, don’t bother taking anything he says seriously Aaron. Kokichi is a nonstop liar and prankster.” Shuichi said, almost with pity.

…Right. I knew that. Obviously.

We all chatted some more, and I, eager to meet more of my classmates, said, “Are we going to just stand around out here? Or… I dunno? Head inside?” No more unpleasant surprises in the classroom I hope.

Kaito looked past us all “Oh look it’s Maki! Heeey! MAKI GIRL! Come over here!”

“Do you want to die?” Maki said menacingly to Kaito.

… I couldn’t believe my eyes. This “Maki” looked just like her. Like Mary. Dark brown hair, long pigtails, and crimson red eyes… just like my left eye.

She stopped walking and stared at me. No it couldn’t be… Is that recognition?

With a whisper she said, “Aaron..?”

Taking a small step forward I exclaimed her true name, “M-Mary?!”

We looked into each other’s eyes, mouths wide open with disbelief. It couldn’t be her… right? Last time I saw her was at the orphanage. _And I never saw her again._ But that’s not true. Not anymore.

“Mary, I-”

“Aaron, how can-”

I stopped talking, to wait for her to continue. She did the same. Go figure. Aaannd Kokichi picked the slack.

“Oh. My. Gawd. You two know each other!! That’s crazy! Of coourse the secret Ultimates actually have met before. You two are hiding something! And noot just your talents! Bwahahahaa!”

“Mary?” Shuichi glanced at me, “Aaron, why are you calling her that? Isn’t her name Maki?”

“Umm, well I…”

“Guys, guys. Give them some space! C’mon now.” Kaito, what a stud, grabbed both Shuichi and Kokichi by their school jackets and started dragging them towards the classroom.

“Unhand me Kaito! Don’t you know how to treat your superior?!!”

“K-Kaito! But I wanted to-”

Rantaro opened the classroom door, and Kaito tossed them both inside. He winked at Mary and followed them in. Real sly dude. Grabbing his lame souvenir gifts Rantaro nodded at me and went through the doorway. Awfully courteous of him. I suppose us interns need to look out for each other. Even if he hates my guts. That or he seemed really eager to get away from Mary. To leave just me alone to handle her. Yes, how considerate.

Now alone with my childhood friend I tried to formulate a sentence. Mary beat me to the punch.

“Aaron… what are you doing at Hope’s Peak Academy?” Her eyes flicked down, observing my attire. “You’re apart of the main course.” A statement in which she answered her own question.

“Yeah. I… I am. I’m the new transfer student. Still though, I can’t… I can barely believe it’s you! I thought… I thought that after those men took you from the orphanage, I’d never see you again! And here you are. An Ultimate like me!”

“You weren’t at the orphanage.” There was an underlying hostility in her voice.

“…You went back?” I asked.

“Of course I went back. But you weren’t there Aaron. _No one was_. I heard what happened to Kylee. I thought… something similar happened to you.”

 _I had no clue._ “God, Mary I’m so sor-”

“Maki.”

“W-what?”

She stepped closer to me and looked at me with her intense red eyes. This presence she had! It was like I had a snake coiled around my neck, hissing into my ear!

“It’s Maki Harukawa. Mary Schindler is dead. Got it?”

I gulped. “Got it. Uh, Maki.” _Mary, what happened?_

She looked over me once more, and flicked her hair back with her hand. “Good.”

“…Soo, what’s your talent?” I asked.

“…”

“Uhhh…”

“What’s your's Aaron?”

“I… I can’t tell you. Sorry.”

“Hmph, you’re as unreliable as ever.” Ouch.

She walked past me, the door closing with a soft thud. My classmates inside could be heard barraging her with questions, but she swiftly quelled them, asking them if they “wanted to die.”

At the moment I sure felt like it.

How did my life become so upside down?

 

* * *

 

I was stuffing my face. It’s an easy choice actually. Donuts over making friends all the time! Hell yeah!

…Truth be told, I was eating the donuts to hide the inner turmoil of my apparent lack of social skills. Which confident me thought I mastered until I walked into a classroom full of bizarre and talented people begging for the attention of the new transfer student. It was way too much to handle for a lonely thief like myself. Seriously what gave me the idea that I’m a people person?! I’ve been an orphan a half of my life, and a thief the other half. I got no social skills at all!

Weell, even that’s not entirely true. I know how to socialize, how to play nice. How to wear a mask. You got to for those certain heists. I ran a gang once, and they respected me. But this wasn’t the same.

In actuality, I was attacking the donut box because I was nervous to make friends. _Real friends._ Ones that know Aaron Wolf, not Kid Col. Not as a thief, but _me._ The best way to get over all my nerves, especially after seeing Mar-Maki, was to eat those donuts like a boss.

I know right? I’m so edgy. Donuts.

…

I started to choke on the donut.

“Whoa there Aaron! Take it slow and easy!” Kaito said, slapping my back. Hard. That didn’t help.

“Huh, he’s a degenerate male! It’s no wonder he’s such a slob!” remarked a girl with black hair tied into a loose ponytail with a windmill, green ribbon.

“Tenko! How many times do we have to talk about it?! It’s not because he’s a boy that he’s… uhh… Well that’s besides the point. Not all guys are instantly horrible people! Just look at Shuichi!” This girl had music hairpins across her blonde head. She also had a pink vest and purple eyes.

“Oh, ah, thanks Kaede.”

“Yeah, yeah we get it class rep! But maybe Tenko has a point?! Even Shuichi is back to wearing that stupid pedophile hat of his! What a thirsty dreamer!!” responded a blond girl with goggles over her forehead.

“…Well I happen to like my hat, Miu.” Shuichi said silently under his breath.

“Gonta thinks donuts have much too sugar. It’s not gentlemanly. Gonta prefer protein!” It was a very big and bulky guy with long and unkempt hair, it’s as if he never had a hair cut in his life before at all. And he’s referring to himself in third person? Weird.

“Nyeeeh, maybe he’s the Ultimate Fast Eater?” It was small petite girl with lazy eyes and bright red hair. She was also wearing a wizard hat. Cool.

“No Himiko. Given the current circumstance, logically he cannot be the Ultimate Fast Eater. It seems he cannot truly process the act of eating.” This student was stiff in posture. He had white hair, like me when I don’t my dye hair black, but it was even more shaggy and unkempt. Not as long as Gonta, but equally an impressive amount. He also had lines that stretched from the bottom of his eyes down his very pale face.

“Of course a robot would be the one the point that out! You’re so heartless Keebo! You obviously do nothing when a true human is choking. I’m teelling you guys, Keebo has plans to overthrow humanity with his army of robots!” said Kokichi, who _he himself_ hasn’t done anything to help me out. Like everybody here.

“T-That’s robophobic! And untrue! I have no such army! And I would gladly help Aaron if I knew what to do!”

“Are you telling me that you, K1-B0, Ultimate Robot, can’t even do the measly act of saving a guy from choking?! So lame.”

“Kehehe… it seems none of us are actually doing anything to help our new classmate out. I wonder… will Aaron be okay? Where is Kirumi?” This guy wore a creepy zippered mask and a military-ish cap. I got more sketchy vibes from him than I did Kokichi.

A tan girl with cropped white hair responded, “Oh I know! I had divine intervention from Atua himself! He declared that we didn’t have enough donuts! It was with his amazing wisdom that I sent Kirumi out to get some more. Don’t you worry Aaron! Atua has mercy that abounds everywhere!” _That doesn’t help!_

My mind was doing somersaults, and I glared at each of my classmates as if to scream “HELP ME!”. I was _still_ choking. Granted I could use my quirk Gaseous Form, but I knew better than to reveal that to class. Guess I’ll just choke and die. On a donut.

“D-don’t look at me Aaron! I’m pretty plain when it comes saving lives. I’m no Sakura Haruno.” Well I guess the tall, plain-looking girl with blue hair and round glasses can’t do anything to help me. Didn’t understand her reference though.

The shortest student, shorter than Wayne, approached me and sighed. He had a black spiked beanie that, like Shuichi, was totally out of place with the brown uniform of Hope’s Peak Academy. He had round gray eyes and rosy cheeks that contrasted sharply with his pale complexion.

“Move aside Tsumugi.” _Cool, are you the guy who’s actually gonna help m-GAH._ His small fist propelled fast into my gut, faster than what my eye could see. Immediately the piece of donut that was lodged securely in my throat shot out far and hit the classroom’s whiteboard, sticking before sliding down to the ground.

I grabbed my stomach in pain and coughed furiously before I gasped for air. Maki was in the corner of the room rolling her eyes at me. The little guy placed his hand on his beanie and said, “Hmph, you still got a ways to go.”

“Nice one Ryoma.” Rantaro commented. There was some sick satisfaction he had in watching that. I guess I earned it though.

“Blegh! T-thanks. How’d you know to do that?” I asked him. The rest of the class was muttering amongst themselves, all relieved that they didn’t have a dead classmate in their midst.

“Name’s Ryoma. I played tennis in the past, but those days are long over. Long story short I lodged a ball in my opponent’s throat once, so I struck him in the center to release it.”

"That's... humph, really, hooo, awesome!" This Ryoma guy seemed like he had more to his story. What on Earth does he mean by days long over?

 “O-oh my God! Really guys!?” I looked up from my panting position to see a tall, tan lady with brunette hair tied into a ponytail enter the classroom. She had bright blue eyes that were currently used to stare at the whiteboard. The teacher no doubt. “I’m gone for what, 20 minutes, and you all _already_ ruined the donut party I prepared for Aaron!”

“C’moon Professor Hina! It’s Aaron’s fault! He didn’t bother trying to share! He wanted the whole box to himself! What a selfish prick! And here I thought I’d have a new friend! WAAAAAAAH!” Kokichi, already throwing me under the bus.

“Kokichi! You’re omitting some of the truth now. Or are you forgetting that Aaron almost choked?” Shuichi countered quickly. Thanks? I guess.

“Heh. You’re at fault too professor! Donuts are a degenerate’s food!”

“Tenko really?! You don’t want me to crescendo now do you?!”

“Everyone just calm down! Listen, why don't we all go around and introduce ourselves? For your new classmate? And Aaron?” The teacher stared at me, her gaze turning deadly. “If I catch you trying to hog the donut box again, you’ll never see the light of day.”

“Yes ma’am!” I responded quickly. Noted. Don’t mess with the professor and her donuts.

The next several minutes was like a mini Ultimate Ceremony. I learned all of their talents and their names. Himiko insisted that she knew real magic, Miu acted like she was the greatest thing to come to this world, and Kokichi announced his supreme lordship again to me. He also threatened to kill me if I revealed his talent and identity to the public. A sentiment I understand.

“Alright, Aaron, it’s your turn!” My teacher, Aoi Asahina gave me a warm smile. That’s right. She was one of the six that survived Junko Enoshima’s killing game.

I stood up from my seat, “You guys probably know, but my name’s Aaron Wol-”

“We know already! Just get to the point! What is your talent? Or are you like miss antisocial in the corner there?!” Miu interrupted rudely.

“Do you want to die?”

“Gyaahh!”

“…I grew up in Gotham city. I’ve been an orphan my entire life.” I looked at Mary. She wasn’t meeting my gaze. “You can use your imagination I suppose. So, uh, I’m sorry guys. I’m not telling you my talent. But hopefully that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.” I gave them a sincere smile. I meant it with all my heart.

“Of course bro! We got your back! You’ll just tell us when you’re ready.” Kaito grinned at me and gave me a thumbs up. What a cool guy! That was really touching.

Kaede smiled at me and raised her fists in agreement, “Yeah, Aaron, we’ll support you all the way! Just like how F-A-E Sonata was composed!”

“I’ll do everything in my power to serve you as well Aaron. You have my deepest support.” I looked at the classroom door to see a girl carrying a tray of several boxes of donuts. She wore a maid’s outfit underneath her school jacket. Her faded green hair covered her left eye, and she wore black gloves.

Professor Asahina clapped her hands together and said, “Ah Kirumi you made it just in time! And you’ve redeemed our donut party! A gold star for you!”

Kirumi did a curtsy before delivering donuts to each of us. I glared at the one on my desk, my appetite gone. Yeah I’m done. I don’t wanna risk death by donuts again.

Time passed and I learned more about my classmates and their dynamics. I slowly eased into comfort and was less nervous than I had originally been. Everyone had their own type of influence over each other. Kaede, the class representative, was a cheery and positive person held in high regard by everybody. It was just easy to feel happy whenever she talked. But there were a couple outliers that didn’t fit in well, even more so than me.

The first is Mary-Maki. She kept her distance, and everyone else did the same. No one wanted to be near. Every time I tried approaching her, she gave me a death glare. I was hounded by questions from my other classmates about how I knew her, but for her sake, I told them to ask her themselves. To which only Kaito was brave enough to do so before getting a roundhouse kick in the face. I didn't know she could that. Then again... I don't know anything about her anymore. Not since she disappeared with those men.

The other one who didn’t fit in was Kokichi. Sure he was constantly plaguing us with lies and jests, but it was real obvious he didn’t really try to get along. He just wanted to get under our skins and on our nerves. It worked. I was pretty annoyed.

“Kokichi. For the last time. I. Am. Not. ROBIN!”

“Could’ve fooled anyone but me Aaron; I’m not buying it. Your black hair speaks volumes.”

I just rubbed my forehead and groaned. And from the corner of my eye, I saw Shuichi working on something. He was really into it. And visibly struggling. He should’ve been enjoying my welcome party, but about half-way through he pulled some notes from that bag of his and has been at it ever since.

Huh.

I’m curious now. What kind of case gives even an Ultimate Detective trouble?

I guess I found my next, uh, victim? Gig? Whatever, it’ll be a bonding experience! I’ll need to practice my talent somehow afterall. Besides, there’s nothing wrong with a little borrowing now is there? Besides, he already knows what I do. This will give me the chance I've been looking for. It's a gamble, but I'm used to taking chances.

“Hey! HEY! Are you listening to me peasant?!” Kokichi snapped his fingers in front of me.

“I always listen.”

“Oh yeah? What’d I just say?” Kokichi raised his eyebrow and put his finger to his lip.

“You, umm, even have plans to take down… uhhh, Batman?” A shot in the dark. I wasn’t listening.

“No, no dummy! Not just Batman! The whole Justice League! Batman’s just the first step!”

I rolled my eyes at him. Shuichi wasn’t kidding. This kid’s a real jokester. He doesn’t know the first thing about Batman. Not like how I do.

“Sure Kokichi. Whatever you say.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And it's here! I hope you all enjoy! Expect another chapter in the future. And probably more school delays. Also feel free to comment and give feedback!  
> Also, WOW. 200+ Hits!! Thanks!
> 
> Chapter Notes:  
> You could probably tell, but I was getting hungry while eating this... I'm sensing a trend within myself. The inspiration of a donut party came from the character Aoi Asahina. I figured that since she's the teacher, she'd be the one to throw a party. With donuts. Yaaaaaaaaaaaay.


	13. Tri Path: Selective Listening

**Kyoka**

To think I already forged a little friend group within Hero Class 1A. And despite what Professor Aizawa said, we decided to go hang out at the new Batburger that was down the street. Yeah, we’re rebels. And flippin’ exhausted. That quirk assessment exam was rough, I gave it my all throughout the whole thing only to find out that our teacher didn’t plan on kicking _any_ of us out of U.A. The expulsion threat was “incentive” for us to do our best for the sake of really judging our skills and quirks. It was hard for me, but I managed to use my earlobes for the grip strength test to really boost my score. I placed 17th, so not last. I’ll take what I can get.

The four of us, fortunately, had already occupied a booth in the very crowded fast food dining hall. It was booming with students from around the city, a majority from the two elite schools U.A. and Hope’s Peak.

“Maaan I’m beat! Nothing eases an aching body like good old-fashioned hamburgers!” Kaminari exclaimed with a loud belch. Right into my face. Dude.

Yaoyorozu hit his head for the second time today and said, “Kaminari! Mind your manners! Your etiquette is severely lacking.”

“Ow! Hey! Says the person who eats a hamburger with a fork and a knife! Seriously! Who does that?!”

After swallowing her latest bite, she put her utensils down and said, “Why, Bruce Wayne of course. I’m only following his example after all. He is a lead in the corporate world of Gotham City and was seen doing so in one such, uh, Batburger. I only wish to copy his confident demeanor in the public; he told me personally it would do wonders.”

Hagakure was nibbling on fries, the food vanishing into nothingness as she ate away. “Wow, Yaoyorozu you really are awesome! Not only did you score 1st on the quirk assessment exam, but you, like, know Bruce Wayne! _The_ Bruce Wayne!”

“Yeah…” I began to say, my eyebrow raised, “Speaking of which, why are you with the three of us? You’re the best of the class, but we’re practically the lowest scoring.” Yeah, Kaminari, myself, and Hagakure scored 16th, 17th, and 18th respectively. If you don’t count creep personified Mineta and muttering magician Midoriya, we’d be the last place losers of the class.

“Oh that’s easy!” Kaminari chimed in, his eyes glowing, “Momo and I went to the same middle school! We’re best frenemies!”

“Uh, ‘Frenemies’?” Hagakure asked. I think she tilted her invisible head.

Yaoyorozu sighed, “What Kaminari means to say is that we’re mutual acquaintances whose personalities clash on a frequent basis.”

I smirked back at her, “Oh so like a couple.”

“Th-that’s not at all what it is like!” she stammered. Kaminari, on the other hand, looked away blushing.

“Sure, sure.” I teased.

She coughed into her hand, “S-so Jiro? Who, uh, made an impression on you today at class?” Wow. Eager to change the topic much?

Doing the Kokichi pose I planted a finger on my lip and said, “Midoriya for sure. I’ve never seen a quirk like his. His whole finger was so swollen, but he made the ball fly so far away. Oh and our teacher too! Who knew he could erase quirks?!”

“But not us Jiro!” Hagakure elbowed my arm, “Our quirks are naturally a part of our bodies!”

“Yeah true. Isn’t that rad?” I expressed this by wiggling my earlobes around and then used them to nab some fries. I never really thought of about it, but I guess my quirk would technically make me a mutant. I’m nothing like Koda or Shoji though. “So what about you Hagakure? Who stuck out?”

“Ashido was really epic today! She skated on her acid with such ease. I invited her over but she couldn’t make it today… Hmm, Tsuyu Asui was also really athletic. Compared to me, they both stand out!”

“Asui… you mean frog girl?” I questioned.

“Yeah, frog girl!” There was a quiet pause as the two of us realized just how insensitive that was.

Lucky for us Kaminari broke the silence, “Oh, oh, me next! Todoroki’s quirk was amazing! I mean, he made so much ice appear! I’m surprised you beat him Momo!”

“Indeed, there are many formidable rivals here in our class. I must say Tokoyami and his Dark Shadow really were something else.”

“Oh yeah, he was cool too!” I commented.

“Yes…” Yaoyorozu paused and looked at me intensely,  “Jiro? I’ve been meaning to ask, are you aware that you made the news yesterday?”

“Uhh, what?”

She pulled out her phone and scrolled to a news website. The main image was of Kaede and me walking into the Hope’s Peak Academy just before the Ultimate Ceremony.

DAUGHTER OF THE JIRO COUPLE, FRIENDS WITH ULTIMATE PIANIST?

She raised her eyebrow, and I facepalmed. I can’t believe I forgot about the journalists! They’d do anything for a scoop! To be fair, although I mentally noticed them, I was too busy thinking about my first time at Hope’s Peak and preparing myself for the first day school the following day, today.

“Ohmygosh I knew I recognized your last name! I can’t believe you’re their child!” Hagakure squealed, practically leaping from the booth and squeezing me with a big hug. I didn’t realize she was a fan of my parents. “They, like, make the _best_ music!”

Kaminari gasped and said, “You know an Ultimate! And were at Hope’s Peak! What’s it like?” His eyes were sparkling with envy.

My face was flush with embarrassment. I should’ve prepared myself for an onslaught of comments like these, but I was personally hoping the reputation of U.A. would be enough for me to go unnoticed for at least the first day of school. Apparently I could last through classes, but not after them.

I was about to reply, but instead, a tray of food slammed onto our booth table causing all four of us to jump. I looked up to see no one other than _my_ _brother_ in his Hope’s Peak uniform. Of course he’d be here! Why wouldn’t he be? And he had his playful grin on.

“Why ask my dear little sister when I have all the answers to your meaningless questions?”

“Kokichi!” I said, slapping his face with my earplug, “Stop surprising me like that!” He opted to ignore me by chuckling and rubbing his cheek. He sat on my left, taking his place at the booth.

Yaoyorozu nodded, “I was about to say, but you’re Jiro’s brother right? Kokichi Oma, one of Class 91’s two secret Ultimates.”

Kaminari had his mouth wide open, and Hagukure… well… it’s just kind’ve hard to read an invisible person’s emotions! I think I’m getting better at it… but yeah, I had no idea what she was thinking.

Kokichi nodded back, “Actually it’s the Secret Three now counting the transfer student. He doesn’t know how to eat donuts.”

“Wait, what?” He must’ve been talking about the guy with the red eye. Aaron Wolf can’t eat donuts?

“Oh nothing, nothing. Anyhow, I’m sure peasants like yourself have plenty of questions, so ask away! Mmmmm… I sure do like my fries jokerized!”

My brother was sure being snarky, but this was embarrassing. He looked way too content eating his meal, and very smug at my fellow U.A. peers. Kaminari kept doing double checks, peering back and forth between me and my brother. I think he was in shock. Yaoyorozu flicked her hair to the side and crossed her arms.

“Uhh…What’s it like being an Ultimate?” Hagukure asked tentatively.

“Oh you know! The usual Ultimate kind of the stuff. Things that are way above you _mortals_.” Kokichi answered peering at his fingernails before sucking off the sauce that was stuck to his hand.

I’m not gonna lie. I was not happy with my brother. I chose to go to U.A. to step out of his infuriating shadow and prove myself as a hero. And now he decides to show off and belittle my new friends right in front of me! He’s gloating his Ultimate status and it’s way too much. Enough is enough.

“Kokichi,” I growled, “If you don’t get your act together I’ll-”

“Oh that reminds me!” He interrupted, slamming his hand against the table, “Congrats on passing the quirk assessment test, dear sister!”

_How did he know I took a_

“H-how did you know we had a quirk assessment test?” stammered Kaminari, his eyes wide. Yaoyorozu narrowed hers instead. Hagakure… well a faint but audible gasp escaped her lips.

“Well well. Isn’t it obvious?” My brother replied with a finger to his lip, a pose I used just moments earlier, “I have an inside informant, Denki Kaminaaari.”

I didn’t mention their names.

“Really, now you’re spying on me?!” I said furiously. I didn’t even bother using my quirk. With a fist I grabbed that stupid checkered bandana he always wears and brought him closer to my face. He didn’t even bat an eye. My big brother was purposely provoking me at the moment.

“Relaax little sister. I’m only doing it because I caaaare about you.”

I knew it that statement had some truth to it. But in my anger all I could focus on was the other truth. As much as he is my brother, he is also my rival. And he’s doing whatever he can to showcase how much better he was than me. That he had a hand in everything to do with me and my world. Even if I chose a different path, with a different school, and a different goal, his presence remained. _Like a supreme leader._

And yet he couldn’t even be bothered to spend time with his family.

“ENOUGH with the games! Kokichi if you’re here to just mess with me, _on my first day of school no less,_ you can get the hell out here!” I let go of his bandana and he slunk against booth appearing somehow even more pale. “I don’t want you today, _brother_.” I continued firmly.

There was a very awkward pause. He looked so distraught, and his composure was much smaller than his usual boisterous self. It was… unsettling.

Like a flip of a light switch, he busted out laughing. “Bwahaha! R-really Kyoka?! You think I’m here for YOU?! Get a grip dear sister! I, unlike you hero wannabes, am here for a very important meeting. In fact… I daresay my moment has arrived.”

He turned around with his knees on the booth seat and reached over past the other customer who was sitting behind us.

“Yoink!”

 

* * *

 

**Aaron**

Phase one: Steal Shuichi’s important documents contained within his messenger bag. Complete. And easy.

Phase two: Leave a calling card detailing where to meet up. Complete.

Phase three: Analyze said documents of a case giving even the Ultimate Detective trouble. In progress.

Phase four: Offer my assistance as a Future Foundation intern and my skills as the Ultimate Thief. Tentatively possible. Probably against the Foundation rules.

Phase five: Befriend Shuichi. Oof. Yeah, good luck with that Kid Col.

I sighed, stuffing the little black radio back in my pocket and then ate a handful of jokerized fries. I was quite disappointed. Although much bigger than the several Batburgers down at Gotham, there was a severe lack of cosplaying. It was filled to the brim with Hope’s Peak Uniforms and some other school getup.

I occupied a whole booth to myself and had Shuichi’s case files all laid out across the table. Other students in the fast food restaurant gave me plenty of mean looks. I equaled their gazes, my new red eye easily dissuading them from approaching my space. Handy. The group behind me, all in gray uniforms, were all being super noisy too; so I’m sure that played a part in people avoiding my booth. Luckily I’m good at tuning people out.

I can understand their frustration with me though; it was super crowded and it appeared that I didn’t seem to be leaving anytime soon. Which I wasn’t. And hey, what can I say? Finders Keepers. And I _find_ a lot of stuff.

Shuichi’s case was an interesting one. I personally haven’t resulted to graverobbing; I find that stealing off of living people is much more satisfying and difficult. However, it’s pretty weird that the bodies are getting taken as well. To Shuichi’s credit, he found that every grave that has been robbed was from someone who died during the events of the tragedy, but unfortunately, that’s the only lead that has appeared.

I tried to figure out from my “thief perspective” where the next site would be, but honestly? I had no idea. I don’t rob graves, and the sense and rhythm of these made no sense. It was a complete opposite style of thievery compared to what I do. I hide my tracks but sprinkle my footprints here and there. Basically, if I steal something, it’s pretty obvious what my _motive_ would be. Usually cash. But in this case… they don’t make the motive clear. It was hidden. I don’t know _why_ they were robbing graves, and it seems Shuichi doesn’t either.

The real root of Shuichi’s problem is that he needs the power to face the cowardly graverobber directly, but he can’t muscle the authoritative manpower without proof. And he can’t get proof without manpower. A never-ending cycle. This where phase four comes into play. I’ll be the manpower. The evidence finder. The sneaky thief.

That’s if he agrees to my crazy plan.

Dammit. Should’ve just asked him about the case. I’m way too flamboyant for my own good.

He finds me easily enough. I expected him to be scowling, but he just tipped his hat forward and sat across from me. He took notice of his papers and then stared at my eyes, no doubt trying to figure me out. It was as though he peered into my soul. And couldn’t read it. Who could blame him? I’ve been a mess lately.

I sipped loudly from my fountain drink, trying my best to ignore the tension between us, and come up with something witty. I was drawing a blank though.

“Why did you steal my case papers?” He asked. Down to business then.

“I was curious.” I answered. Not a lie and defiantly the shortest truth.

“Do you realize this case is classified?”

“Ummm?” _Oops._

Shuichi sighed, “It’s a Future Foundation case assigned to me from Kyoko Kirigiri. Only I and select FF operatives are aware of it. You… uh, broke the law by reading it. And by taking my possessions.”

I snickered, “Isn’t that what thieves do?”

“You admit it’s your talent?” Shuichi clasped his hands together and leaned forward.

“Look Shuichi,” I raised my hands defensively, “Let’s not run around the bush here. I’m willing to talk, okay? I didn’t take your stuff out of ill intent. I just wanted to meet up.”

“You got a funny way of showing that.”

“Hey! In my defense, I’m a thief! It’s what I do! Gotta practice somehow right? And… yeah. Sometimes I don’t think things through.”

I actually got a chuckle out of him. Even if he was laughing at my expense. “So Aaron? Why’d you want me to meet up? You must have an ulterior motive, being who you are.”

“I mean, kinda. I just… look, I’m not good with this sort of stuff.” I shook my head.

“What do you want to say?” He urged me on, pressing for information. He had a glint in his eye, as if he was a wolf hungry for all the juicy intel. I recognized that look, it’s the desire of an Ultimate. Almost how I hunger for the perfect heist.

I fiddled with my thumbs. Why is this so hard? Geez. Am I that desperate for a buddy? Okay deep breaths, Aaron. You got this. Make a good impression. Lose the mask. Be genuine. Be real for once.

 

* * *

 

**Shuichi**

“You, uh, you’re right. I’m the Ultimate Thief. And I think you also know that I used to be Kid Col back in Gotham.”

“That’s correct.” I affirmed.

“Well I’m also a newly instated Future Foundation intern. Kyoko is the one who made the proposal to me… though to be honest it was more like she blackmailed me. Ya’know, with my not so secret identity anymore.”

I crossed my arms. “She failed to notify me about that.” Yes… she did mention that she contacted Aaron about joining the Ultimate main course, but nothing about the Future Foundation.

“Well it’s good news though right?!” He gestured to the case files. “I’m FF, so I can take liberty in helping you out!”

“Why would you want to help me?” I don’t trust him. It is _my_ case, my job. And he’s a thief. The odds are he caught the scent of treasure and is willing to follow his nose to it. He’ll likely do so at my expense. I’m certain of it.

Instead, he took a deep breath and began to speak hesitantly.

“I… I think we got off on the wrong foot. You and Rantaro both know who I really am. But he already hates my guts... So I’m hoping I can avoid that with you as well. I’m... The things I’m wrapped up in are way over my head. I didn’t expect to move to Japan, and now my life’s all flipped around. I… I’m scared Shuichi. And honestly, I don’t wanna mess this opportunity up. I never actually went to school. So I’m willing to prove to you that I can help. You know my past, and well? I need to rely on someone. And I think I can trust you.”

I was flabbergasted. More than that, I was ashamed. From the moment I heard of him, of Kid Col, I already judged him and his character. Mere seconds ago I thought he was nothing but a troublemaker. A criminal. That he’s a liar with devious motives. But looking at him know? He looked vulnerable.

I quickly deduced what this meeting was really about. It was so obvious, I can’t believe I overlooked it. My pride actually got in the way. How did I become so careless in that regard?

“You want to be friends.” I stated as a matter of fact.

“Well… yeah.”

I sighed. Not all of my worries about the boy thief dissipated, there’s a chance he may be completely acting and pulling my strings, but even so, this was more than I could ever hope for. I had a clearer picture of who he truly was. And if he’s actually willing to help me with my case solely to gain my favor, I shouldn’t pass this opportunity up. I needed the help.

“Sure Aaron. I’ll bite.”

“…Wait, really?!” His jaw dropped.

“Uh huh. You seem like you’re telling the truth. I still have many questions I need you to answer, however.”

“Yeah... Yeah, that makes sense. Ask away!”

I smirked at him and pulled out my laptop from my messenger bag. “We can get to those later, right? You said you’re willing to help me with my case? Well, luckily for me I don’t necessarily need my papers to do my research, even if it’s my preferred method.”

I typed away and opened the file I had in storage. “I’m assuming you looked into the grave robberies? What are your thoughts Aaron?”

“If I’m being real with ya Shuichi, I have no clue. Nada. I don’t get why the graves are being robbed. If I knew why…”

“That’s alright. I’m still unsure as well. But have a look at this!” I turned my laptop around so he could see the screen.

“This is… Wow.” Aaron’s eyes widened.

“Yes. I’ve narrowed it down to this location. Their next target. And I’m certain they’ll be striking within the week. Maybe even tonight.”

“That’s great Shuichi! I see why you’re the Ultimate Detective. Just like Kyoko. So? How can I help?”

“Well here’s the thing, I’m only a freelance detective. I don’t have the legal power to apprehend suspects. You on the other hand…” I gestured at him.

“I’m allowed to place people in custody?” He asked.

“Only within reason and a mission can a FF intern exercise that power. But you ran across me and my case. I’m allowed to ask for other Future Foundation members to assist me for their cases. But… Kyoko’s kept a tight leash on who I actually know in the Foundation. Says it’s for ‘growth’.” I explained in air quotes.

“Then it’s a good thing you met me, huh? So should we try tonight?”

“Yeah Aaron, I’d like to avoid missing the… What?!”

Before I knew it I saw Kokichi smiling devilishly behind the boy thief from the other booth with the U.A. students. _When did he get here?!_ He reached out past Aaron and grabbed my laptop before the two of us could even react.

“Yoink!”

“K-Kokichi?!” I stammered.

“What the hell!” Aaron exclaimed.

“Oh I see. I see. Neptune Heights. So that’s where they’ll be next.” He muttered as he stared at my computer screen.

“Kokichi, what on Earth are you doing?!” The girl he was apparently sitting next to also turned around in her seat to face us. Her hair was a rich shade of purple and an electric highlight blazed through it. Her eyes glanced over Aaron and me; she muttered a faint “Oh” in response before turning to her brother.

She is his sister, right? She looks just as Kaede described.

“Really?! You love sticking your nose in people’s business don’t-”

“C’mon Kyoka! I thought you _didn’t want me today_!” Kokichi stuck his tongue at her. “I’ll be buddy-buddy with my _real_ friends here!”

“Excuse me?” said Aaron.

“You heard me Aaron! Aren’t you wanting friends now anyway?”

“Wait…” I said tentatively, “How much did you hear?”

“…All of it! BWAHAHAHAA! You two should really be careful. Hehe.”

“What do you want Kokichi?” The quickest way to end his banter.

“It’s simple really! You let me tag along in this game of catch! I want to see you all take down that graverobber!”

“No,” I said firmly, “Not a chance.”

“C’mooon!” He pouted.

Aaron used this opportunity to take the laptop back. It was… I didn’t even hear him move. Kokichi didn’t notice until a second later when it back right in front of me.

“What? Oh, you’re good Kid Col!”

“Kokichi don’t ignore me!”

“Kyoka, what’s going on?”

“Wait are those more Hope’s Peak uniforms? You think they’re Ultimates too, Momo?”

“Who knows? And use my last name!”

“Ow!”

Kokichi looked at me with eyes of a begging child. He’s done it before on me. He had his arms drenched over the booth seat as Aaron was giving him a dirty glare.

“Pwetty please let me come? If I don’t come with you…” he paused, doing what he always does and placed a finger on his lips, “I’ll just go on my own accord. Who knoows what sort of mischief I’ll get into aall by myself.”

…

Damn it, he’s right. Knowing my classmate, Kokichi is bound to get into trouble if he goes by himself. For all I know he could compromise the investigation or tamper with evidence. If he’s at least with us we can control the amount of the damage he’ll do. I didn’t like it, but this was the truth. It’s better he comes with Aaron and I.

I sighed, tipping my hat forward in defeat. “Fine Kokichi… you win. But I’ll have my eye on you.”

He beamed. “HA! I knew you couldn’t resist Shuichi! You know me so well!”

Aaron scowled. “Doesn’t mean we have to like it. Don’t forget I have some _words_ for you Kokichi. I don’t appreciate you eavesdropping.”

“And I to you Aaron Wolf! Wait until you see _the plans_ I have in store for you!” Kokichi said smirking.

Aaron tensed up to that remark. I could only pity him. The word “plan” doesn’t mix well with Kokichi.

 

* * *

 

**Kyoka**

There was no way, and let me repeat, _no way in hell_ , I’m going to let my brother overshadow me like this. He’s going after a graverobber? And messing with his own classmates? No. NO. I’m not sitting by and letting this just _happen_. I’ve got to do something.

“If Kokichi’s going, then I’m going with you too!” I declared to the Ultimates.

“See? Even my dear sister thinks I should- WAIT WHAT.” My brother’s head turned sharply to me. “No. Kyoka, this is Hope’s Peak busines- hmmmph! Mmmmmph!”

I used my quirk to wrap my earlobes around his body and his face, hindering him from objecting. I have my own things to say, _dear brother_. And this time you can’t interrupt.

“My name is Kyoka Jiro, a hero in training at U.A.” I said to the black-hatted Ultimate. “My quirk is not only useful for restraint,” I motioned to my captured brother for example, “but it also enables me to listen in to surrounding areas. It’s good for reconnaissance. I have to _insist_ on coming because of my brother’s stupidity. Thanks for having me.”

The detective shook his head. I know he’s a detective based on what Kaede told me yesterday. There probably aren’t too many Shuichis at Hope’s Peak going after graverobbers. “No. Sorry Kyoka, I don’t think that’s a-”

“Oh me too!” _Wait, Hagakure?_ “I’d like to go! It’s pretty obvious, but I’m invisible. I’m sure I can be loads of help!”

“Are you sure Hagakure? We could be real tired on our second day of school tomorrow.” I asked her.

“MMmmmmphhh!” Oops my grip is loosening. Better fix that real quick!

“It’s no big deal! Besides, it isn’t everyday you get to help an Ultimate out!”

“Wait, guys I think that-”

Kaminari wasted no time interrupting the detective, “Wow, count me in! I’d love to help an Ultimate out! So cool! My quirk can discharge electricity, but I can also use it to radio the police if anything bad really happens!”

Yaoyorozu sighed, “If Kaminari is going, then I better come along as well. My quirk can allow me to create different items from the matter of my body. I am positive I can create something that can assist you all-”

Shuichi held his hand up. “Stop. Please just stop! Thank you for wanting to help, but the truth is that I can’t bring you all with me. You can compromise my case and further risk the culprit finding out we’re there. The more people, the less stealthy we can be. At _most_ I can bring Kokichi with us, but even then, that’s pushing it. Sorry. It just doesn’t work like tha-”

“Eh, sure, why not? We’d love to have you guys!” Aaron spoke up. I didn’t expect the assist from the secret Ultimate. His red eye sparkled as he looked at me with approval.

“Wait, what?!”

“Sorry Shuichi, but I got to call you out on that. More people doesn’t always mean less stealth. If you plan it right, which I can, we all could be really stealthy if we need to. And their quirks seem really useful… I think it’s the right decision.”

“…Alright, Aaron, I’ll place my trust in your judgment. This isn’t how I originally thought I’d solve the case, but if it works, I have no complaints. You are the reason I’m going out in the field after all.”

I nodded happily. “Wonderful! Then it’s settled.” I gave Kokichi a very smug look. Ah, the sweet elation of sibling payback.

Needless to say, he was quite furious. “Mmmmph! HMMMMPPH!”

 

* * *

 

**Shuichi**

Neptune Heights. Named after the Roman god of the sea because of the very tall blueberry bushes that decorated all around the graveyard. Lampposts illuminated the different gravesites, and the blue shine of the berries glittered all around. Rich god rays came from the moon and passed through the thick bushes and American-imported pine trees.

We arrived by limousine of all things; the rich Momo Yaoyorozu couldn’t help it. She said it was the least she could do for me since I helped her locate her pet alligator back in elementary school. That brought back some memories. She seemed much more focused than when I last saw her. It seemed that she was really trying hard to become a hero.

The black, ornate gate welcomed the seven of us first to a spherical, marble memorial with many, many names carved into it. From there, the rest of the graveyard was a splendid sight, all down-hill.

The north entrance was easily the best for our plan. We could see everything.

“Alright!” Aaron said, clapping his hands together, “Let’s go over the plan one more time. Everyone, what’s your role?”

Kyoka Jiro went first, “I’ll use my quirk to sense any surrounding sounds, and tag along Shuichi as he investigates.”

“I’ll wander around the whole graveyard and investigate too! I’ll report straight to Yaoyorozu or Kaminari if I find anything cool!” The invisible girl, Toru Hagakure, exclaimed.

“Kaminari and I will hide up high in the hills and scout using these binoculars I created. We’ll radio you if we see anything.” Yaoyorozu stated, tapping her ear toward the earpiece she made. It was so much more impressive than those crayons she made when she was little.

My turn I guess. “I’m the main party investigator. I have a couple of ideas of where they’ll show up. I’m also making sure Kokichi doesn’t mess us up.”

Kokichi looked at his fingernails bored. “C’moon detective. You know I’m here as a last-minute distraction.”

“You forget! That is only because we couldn’t think of anything better for you!” I retorted.

“Okay,” Aaron continued, ignoring the two of us, “And lastly I’m responsible for capturing the culprit. I’ll follow Shuichi’s lead and strike when I’m able. Remember guys, we need to coordinate on this. Teamwork makes the dream work.”

“Alright! Let’s go catch us a graverobber!” The energetic yellow-haired Kaminari said, throwing his hand forward.

Yaoyorozu rolled her eyes and placed her hand atop of his. The rest of us soon followed shortly. Kokichi was the last, only joining in when his sister grabbed his wrist with her quirk and shoved it on top of the hand pile.

“With this amount of spirit, we should come up with a name,” I muttered, half-jokingly.

“Ooh, I know! How about the Night Stalkers?” Kaminari said, his hand bopped up and down, causing our arms to flow with the same pace.

“No, that sounds outright abysmal.” said Yaoyorozu.

“How does FF Underdogs work?” Aaron tried.

“Nope. It has to be Minions. There’s no other name. You’re all my puppets!” Kokichi said. Who else?

“…How about Spotlight? We’re catching a graverobber in the spotlight aren’t we?” Kyoka said. It was quite fitting.

“OOOH! YES! That’s genius Jiro! I _love_ that song!” Hagakure squealed.

“That seems good. I like it too!” I replied.

Kokichi actually nodded his head in agreement. “Leave it to my sister to come up with a good name. Isn’t she awesome?!”

“Yeah, yeah, shove it bro.”

“Oh woe me! My heart! Dear sister, _why_?!”

Aaron chuckled in amusement. He took on a new presence, very relaxed in this company of misfit students. “Looks like that’s our name. Okay guys, you ready? 1…2…3!”

“SPOTLIGHT!”

 

* * *

 

**Aaron**

It’s easy to think of the good ol’ days back in Gotham when I ran my gang. It was fun and we had something going. Ah, but alas, grunts only work for you if the payouts really good. And because of my... _specific_ rules with Batman, not many grunts decided to keep working with a stuck up, cocky kid like myself. How I managed to lead a group of twenty older men at the age of 14 is beyond me. I guess they all saw my potential… before they ditched me for Penguin. Fat bastard.

Well now I got new buddies. Sort of. But hey, they’re all around my age, so that’s different. And that Yaoyorozu girl is _loaded with money._ Maybe I should ditch the Ultimate crowd and become a hero. Ha. Who am I kidding? I’m no hero.

We make an interesting team that’s for sure. I told the others off and we went our separate ways. Hagakure went away and started undressing… and wow she’s actually invisible, how about that-

“Aaron, you ready?” Kyoka Jiro. I remember seeing her at the Ultimate Ceremony; she was right up there in the front with Kaito and the others.

“Yeah, I’m good. Lead the way Shuichi.”

The three of us followed the Ultimate Detective, to the southeast side of Neptune Heights. I still couldn’t get over how pretty this place was. I never saw blue, no, _sapphire_ light come so naturally and organic. If this place wasn’t a graveyard, I’d be coming here all the time.

“Say Shuichi?”

“What is it Aaron?”

“How’d you figure out this is where they’d be next?”

“…Well you wouldn’t know since you’re foreign, but Neptune Heights is-”

“It’s where all the Ultimates and their families who died during the Tragedy are buried! Isn’t that nifty?! All 76 classes and their relatives! Here!” Kokichi interrupted.

Wait. All _76_ classes?!

“I didn’t realize Enoshima was that messed up. That’s horrific.” I said.

“Yeah, you’re right Aaron. But that’s why I think they’ll be here next. They’ve avoided this one so far, but the signs point to them wanting to go here next. It’s the only inconsistency in their pattern.”

“They have a pattern? Really?” Impressive detective.

“It’s subtle, but it exists. Anyhow, stop here. I’m going to check out the grave site over there.” He pointed past some several trees toward the tallest gravestone. It had a stone canopy over it, and the blueberry bushels wrapped around the legs. “Kyoka, keep a lookout for any sound.”

“Got it.” She extended both of her earlobes and struck them into the ground below.

The three of us waited as the detective went forward by his lonesome to check out the scene. We were hiding behind some pine trees. Kokichi pulled at his bandana in impatience and I fiddled with my lockpicks to pass the time.

“Gee Shuichi! You sure know how to take your time. Aaron boy? What do you think is so special about that grave compared to the rest of-”

“Shhh!” Kyoka said, seemingly breaking her concentration. “I think I hear something.”

“What is it? Footsteps maybe?” I inquired, kneeling down next to her.

“No it’s like… like a low humming.” She stated.

“A low… humming?”

“Yup. Only it’s getting louder. Not closer… just louder. Louder. Huh.”

Yeah that’s weird. And very suspicious.

“Alright, I don’t like this,” I said, “I’m gonna check with Kaminari, see if he sees any-”

She gasped, clutching her ears. “Agh. AAAAAGGH!!” She screamed.

Kokichi was at her side instantly. “Kyoka! KYOKA! What’s wrong?!”

“It’s… It’s…” She passed out and slumped into his arms. There was blood coming out of her ears.

“KYOKA!” Kokichi screamed, “KYOKA, WAKE UP!” He suddenly looked very weak and frail. Scared even.

Just what the hell was going on?!

“Kokichi! Stay with her alright?! I gotta check up on Shuichi!” I said, springing up and rushing toward the big gravestone many yards away.

I put my finger up to my earpiece. “Yaoyorozu, Kaminari! You guys see anything?! Something went wrong with Jiro!”

“Really?! What happened? Is she alright?” Kaminari answered.

“I don’t know.” I answered as I arrived at the grave. But Shuichi wasn’t there. The underneath of the stone canopy glistened with the words “Spei Memoriam.”

There was a chill in the air. A light breeze that carried the scent of blueberry and pine blended together. The mildew of the grass reflected the moon’s eerie light. A raven cawed in a tree above.

My left eye twitched. I didn’t care for the feeling. Every _instinct_ told me something was very, very wrong.

“Aaron, do you copy?”

“What is it Yaoyorozu? Have you seen any sign of Shuichi? He’s not with us.”

“No, there’s a couple of cars that pulled up at the north entrance. They… wait- Denki! No!”

“Yaoyorozu! What is it?! What happened?!”

It was silence at her end.

“Damnit all!” I kicked at the gravestone. It was for the Ultimate Hero.

Crap! _Crap!_ I need to do something! I have to return to the others. I turned away from the gravestone and out from the canopy.

But before I went anywhere, I heard panting in front of me. But I didn’t see anything.

“AARON! Oh! I’m so glad I found you! It’s… It’s really bad! Shuichi! He…he-”

“Slow breaths Hagakure. What happened?” I said, raising my hands in a calming motion.

“I saw him get- BEHIND YOU!!” she gasped.

I quickly swerved around as I felt something pinch my neck. I looked into the face of someone with swirling eyes of madness. He backed away from me with a syringe in hand, his white hair brightly reflecting the moon.

I put my hand against my neck and took a step forward, my other hand outreaching towards the man.

“Damn you…” I said, stumbling onto my knees and my vision failing.

“Ooh. Such _Despair._ It’s horrible isn’t it? But don’t worry. Everything I do is for the sake of _Hope_.” The man said before everything faded to black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm alive! Somehow. Upper division coursework has been buuusy. Anyways. My next chapter will probably be out in a month or two. Sorry I haven't kept to a set schedule. Life just happens.  
> Also I recently bought the game that was the inspiration for the title of this fic! Does anyone enjoy Octopath Traveler? I chose Thereon. Cause he's a thief. With white hair. Hmmm.
> 
> Chapter Notes: This has been a chapter I've been meaning to write for ages. Finally all three protagonists. I decided to veer heavily, for the time being, away from the Hero Academia plot so I can give some of the U.A. students a chance to shine! I took a good amount of time deciding who I think Kyoka would hang out with, and I'm pleased with my choice.  
> Neptune Heights isn't canon or anything; it's exclusively for this shared universe and is an original setting. And hey another cliffhanger! I bet you guys know who Syringe Man is.


	14. Hero Path: Lullaby of Hope

**Kyoka**

“No, no! You’re hitting them all wrong!”

“Well, what do you expect me to do?! I’m playing the drums aren’t I?!”

“You call that playing the drums Kokichi?! What idiot uses the drumstick to hit the base?”

“I do!”

“Well it’s wrong!”

“Nu uhh!”

“Yeah huh!”

“NU UHH!”

“Idiot!”

“Shorty!”

“Sh-Shuddup!”

“Haha! Got you sis!”

“…”

“…Kyoka?”

“I’m not talking to you, meanie!”

“S-sorry…”

“…Here. You hold them like this. And your foot goes over the pedal here. And then you just drop the beat!”

“Greaat. Thanks little sis. Show off.”

“Hey! I’m doing you a favor!”

“Sigh. Not all of us are blessed with natural talent like you, Kyo.”

“Maybe if you actually listened to Mom’s lessons…”

“…Say Kyo?”

“What is it Kichi?”

“Do you wanna be a musician like Mom?”

“Duh. You and I are gonna take this world by storm!”

“H-hey! Stop waving that thing around! Do you want me to lose an eye?!”

“Haha! We’ll be famous! The Jiro Siblings! We’ll be the best musicians ever! Better than even Mom and Dad!”

“…Hmmm. Nope! I don’t wannaaa!”

“ _What?!_ ”

“…I also want to surpass Mom and Dad. But I want to do it _my way_.”

“…Stop trying to act cool you dummy. It doesn’t work when you do it.”

“Gasp! How cruel! Then what is, dear sister, an example of this so-called cool?”

“Hmmm. Oh I know! Heroes are pretty cool! They go whoosh! And be like, ‘Never fear, I brought hot cocoa!’ They’re the coolest!”

“Heroes don’t bring hot chocolate though.”

“Yeah they do!”

“Nu uhh.”

“W-well mine do! So eat that!”

“Ow! Don’t throw that at me!”

“Afraid of drumsticks, big bro?”

“I am when you _chuck them at me_!”

“D-DAD! Kokichi’s making a scary face!”

“Get back here Kyoka!”

 

* * *

 

Ugh. My head was pounding. Don’t know why I’d remember _that_ of all things. I opened my eyes to find myself sitting in a plain, white chair next to a round table with an ornate table cloth. It had a fruit basket on top of it.

…What happened?

I gasped and stood up from the chair immediately. The last thing I remembered was utilizing my quirk to listen in on the surrounding area at Neptune Heights. A loud ringing suddenly busted through and knocked me unconscious, the pain unbearable. Now my ear is clotted with dry blood. Before I passed out Aaron was looking at me with worry and Kokichi was screaming my name…

“Kokichi! Where are y… Where am I?”

I glanced around at the new scenery, and it seemed as though I was in a very, very old-fashioned house. I appeared to be on the first floor which seemed to be separated starkly into two sections by differing floor tiles: my side with the table had checkered black and white tiles whereas the kitchen on the other side had brown hexagonal tiles. The wallpaper was this ugly shade of yellow, and the kitchen cabinetry was actually pink, _pink of all things!_

This was just plain bizarre. Who’s home was this? Did Kokichi bring me here? Where are the others?

These questions lingered in my head as I paced back and forth, biting my finger before I decided to go check out the upstairs. Each step up didn’t creak, but rather made a hollow sound, like the time I used plastic water bottles to bounce off each other in my boredom at elementary school.

As I entered the attic-like bedroom my eyes widened as I saw Yaoyorozu sleeping soundlessly. I rushed to her side and began to shake her awake.

“Yaoyoruzu! Get up! Something’s off with this pla-”

She rose up from the bed and tackled me; holding a dagger to my throat, the white glitter from her creation quirk still sparkling.

Her eyes were cold with fury, “Now listen here. You’ll tell me where Denki Kaminari is or there will be hell to pa- _JIRO?_!!”

“Ohmygod, ohmygod. What the HELL! Y-Yaoyorozu get that damn thing away from me!” I stammered. She got off of me and I backwards crawled until I hit the wall of the room, not taking my eyes off of her.

“I thought… I thought you were _one of them_. I’m so sorry Jiro!” she said sitting back on the bed.

Huh? Excuse me?!

“ _You held a knife to my throat._ So forgive me if I sound a bit vulgar, but what the #@$* is going on?”

“R-right.” She coughed into her hand, composing herself. “I’m led to believe we were kidnapped.”

“KIDNAPPED?!” I exclaimed. “What?! How?!” That’s not good news.

“These cars pulled up while we were still surveilling the area. And then a man with a gas mask appeared and this purple mist came from his body! I believe it was his quirk. Kaminari was close by and… fell face flat in front of him. I tried to get to him, but then someone hit me in the back of the head. Next thing I know…”

“You’re here, with me.” I completed, combing my hair with my fingers, “So we…we’ve really been kidnapped.”

“Is this room locked?” she probed.

“No, I woke up downstairs. It has the weirdest interior… Look that doesn’t matter! If we’ve been kidnapped, we need to get the hell out of here!” I stood up.

“Agreed.”

We began to walk back towards the stairway door, but then the house began to shake and I was forced to lean against the wall for support. Same for Yaoyorozu. _Loud_ voices could be heard.

“Are they really?! Are they really? Are they really awake?!”

“Yeah, well it’s your quirk. Only you would know. Ah. The bliss of a young one’s hope!”

“Yay! Thanks Nagito! Let’s see them now!” The house shook even more violently than before, causing us to stumble and fall down. I heard a gut-wrenching _creaking_ above me.

I looked above to see the _roof itself peel back_ , attached to giant iron hinges, and a huge _face_ of a young girl peering down at us. She had bright blue eyes and long, dark blue hair.

Yaoyorozu, ever the calm one, grabbed my arm. “JIRO! We need to move, NOW!”

But my feet stayed locked into place. I was frozen looking at that child’s face.

She had the same face as my childhood obsession.

The face of Sayaka Maizono, the Ultimate Idol.

“W-what? How?” I stammered. Nothing made sense at that moment. Sayaka was supposed to be _dead_. Dead before I was even born. Murdered in the killing game set up by Junko Enoshima. And yet there she was, _giant_ and glaring down at me with a faint smile. No wait, a _smirk_.

“KYOKA!!” Yaoyorozu called my first name and tugged at me harder.

I snapped out of it and followed her lead. We rushed down the stairs, skipping steps to move faster, and made our way to the bottom floor. Since I was there earlier, I ran up to the front door first and tugged at the handle, beckoning it to open. ‘Cept it didn’t. It wasn’t locked per se, but it simply didn’t open.

“What?! C’mon!” I slammed my shoulder into the door, “C’MON!”

“Jiro! Move aside!” Yaoyorozu used her creation quirk to create a hatchet. I stepped out her way as she began to chop away at the door, swinging high above her head. The door seemed to made of this plain, hard material, but eventually it gave away.

We busted through to the outside to find ourselves… in a bedroom? Sayaka Maizono was in front of us, her chin resting in her hands as her elbows were on the… white, flat, ground? The rest of her torso was obscured from us as she appeared to be standing on another, much lower surface.

Yaoyorozu stopped in shock. “T-this is…”

“Oh there you guys are!” The blue haired girl exclaimed, “You ran away so fast, I wasn’t sure if you’d just hide away in the dollhouse or not!”

“Dollhouse?!” I questioned. _Huh? What even?! What the Hell?!_

“Yup!” she responded with a gleam in her eye, waving her hand in a circular motion, “Soak it all in Kyoka! Look and marvel Momo! You two have been shrunk! You’re _tiny_ now!”

The two of us stood there, gazing up at her. I did indeed soak it all in, and the realization of it all was horrible. If we really did become small, what hope did the two of us have in escaping?!

Yaoyorozu grabbed my arm once again and we moved to run to the side... only for her to block off our path with her arm. We turned around and ran to go the other way, but then she did the same thing with her left arm! We were trapped!

Yaoyorozu collapsed to her knees in distress, and her eyes wide in panic. I knelt by her side, placing my hand on her back. I looked at the Ultimate Idol lookalike with disgust.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT WITH US?!” I screamed in frustration. “How do you know our names?! Why are you doing this?! Just who the hell are you?!”

“Oh don’t fret Kyoka Jiro. You’re quite lucky my little niece recognized you two. And believe me, _I know a thing or two about luck._ ” Standing behind my childhood idol was another man. His hairstyle, although similar to Kokichi’s, was white and fluffy, and he wore a long green trench coat. “I’m Nagito. And this here is Sayaka.”

“Sayaka Maizono is dead! Don’t you dare lie to me, you creep!”

“Maizono?” Sayaka tilted her head and smiled. “No. I’m simply just Sayaka. I’m way better than that loser who died in the killing game. I won’t give into despair.”

“Huh?!”

Nagito continued, “Kyoka Jiro. Musical prodigy and daughter to the Jiro Couple. Sayaka has been a fan of them ever since she was little.” His gazed shifted to my companion, “Momo Yaoyorozu, your grandparents tried to fairly start Sayaka Maizono’s musical career back in the day. It was the worst financial mishap they ever had. _My_ _Sayaka_ , however, respects your family’s legacy and their business morals.”

He extended his arms, “And now, to think, the two of you are now students of U.A., destined to become heroes of society! Don’t you see?! Don’t you get it?! It’s your _hope_ that inspires my dear Sayaka! I wish for nothing more than for her hope to surpass even yours! That’s why you’re here!”

“Our hope?! The hell’s that have to do with you kidnapping us?!” I responded with a slight quiver. This guy is nuts!

Nagito cocked his head us, pointing down, “Simply put… we caught you and your friends sniffing around where they shouldn’t have been. I was able to convince my… _allies_ to take you two with me instead of remaining in their… generous care. You’re _lucky_ because Sayaka wanted you.”

“Hold up,” Yaoyorozu said, standing back up, “Where are our friends? What did you do with them?!”

“Oh them?” Sayaka chuckled, “I don’t know. They didn’t interest me. So I didn’t want them. But who knew that you two would’ve showed up as well! I’m soo happy to have you here!”

“Yes that’s right Sayaka.” Nagito approached closer to the desk, and he patted Sayaka’s head, “Anything thing for you. Afterall, it’s your hope that I wish to nurture the most!”

“I know, I know!” she pouted, “But, Nagito, you told me that so many times!”

“And I’ll tell you it as many times as I need to.”

It wouldn’t have been so terrifying if the two of them weren’t so much bigger than us. Nope, I was shaking in my shoes. Which happened to _not be my speaker boots_ because I decided to leave them at home for the first day of school. Honestly if I get through this somehow, I’m never gonna wear another pair of shoes ever again.

But seriously?! What about the guys?! Are any of them okay? My brother? Kaminiari, Shuichi, Aaron? And how do we get ourselves out of this mess? I would’ve broken down completely if I didn’t glance at Yaoyorozu trying to subtlety use her quirk to create something. It seemed to be taking a while. She nodded at me.

Good… Then that means… I’ll stall for their attention.

I stepped forward, boldly facing the giant duo. “HEY! Just what exactly are we supposed to do, huh?! You can’t expect us to just sit around in your dollhouse! We’re not playthings, y’know!”

Sayaka gasped, “R-really? But I was so looking forward to playing with you two! We were going to have so much fun!” She then pouted and tugged at Nagito’s sleeve. “Hey, hey. Do something!”

Nagito sighed. “I don’t think you two quite understand the situation. You’re in no position to deny us. You’re… well you two are our captives. Would you rather be with my compatriots? I’m sure they could make you cooperative. But don’t pay me any mind. I’m just lowly scum afterall.”

“Oh yeaah? I think you’re the one who doesn’t understand the situation at all! You do realize who we are, right?!”

“…I’ve been over this. You’re Kyoka Jiro and Momo Yaoy-”

“We’re students of U.A.!” I interrupted, confidently.

“So? The semester has just started. You two haven’t even begun to realize your worth as heroes… Ah… I see.”

“Yeah, that’s right! Our teachers will come and save us!” I pointed my finger at him, “Did you know? _All Might himself_ is a part of the staff! You’re totally screwed if you think you can get away with this! He’ll come and rescue us!” I didn’t mean a word of it. The teachers probably have no clue where we are. It’s not like we told anybody we went after a graverobber in the middle of the night. In hindsight we should’ve.

“…Pitiful.” The fluffy haired shook his head.

“Excuse me?”

“Absolutely pitiful. I expected more from students of U.A. To think that’s the extent of your hope. And here I thought you two were something special. It just goes to show that even aspiring heroes such as yourselves are nothing worthwhile. Just when I thought you had enough hope to change this weak-willed society. Even U.A. hasn’t proven anything.”

“You keep blabbing on about hope and society, as if that means anything to you! Just who’s side are you on, you psychopath?!” He’s eating it up. Good. Keep talking.

Sayaka frowned, “Hey! Don’t talk to Nagito like that!”

“I'm on the side of the absolute hope that can overcome any despair. And I believe that absolute hope...exists at the point where hope and despair clash. That belief of mine… has never changed. This society has become too reliant on heroes… too dependent on outside forces to save their meek and feeble selves. All Might can’t be there to save everybody. He may be the Symbol of Peace, but in no way, shape, or form is he the Symbol of Hope. He does little to inspire the country to change, little to bring hope of a better future. Society has grown dull… stagnant even.”

He clutched his hands to his face, peering through his fingers, “Ahahahaha, AHAHAHAHA! So I will be there! I will bring about the hope of the next generation! I will create the ideal situation where Hope and Despair clash. Where villains and heroes alike will test their mettle, their ideals, and their identities! Only then will true change arise, and the ideal Hope will rise from the ashes… just like my dear underclassman Makoto Naegi.”

Under… classman? Wait that means he’s a former Remnant of Despair! An Ultimate!

“Ahaha. So Kyoka Jiro? Will you be among the hope-filled generation I will wish to mold together? Or will you become a stepping stone for those far greater like my dear Sayaka?”

“…Don’t underestimate me.” I said, gritting through my teeth, “I don’t need your ‘guidance’ to become a hero, one of the best even. I already have someone to surpass. Someone to clash with. And he’s way better than any stupid scenario you could come up with.”

I turned my back towards them and clenched my fists. Yaoyorozu smiled and began to count with her fingers. I, of course, was blocking the view.

Three.

“We’re not some twisted pawns for your sick ideals!”

Two.

“We’re people, damnit! We have our own dreams and aspirations!”

One.

“We’re already under the spotlight! Now it’s up to us to take the stage!”

Yaoyorozu tossed the newly created device to me. It was a bit high, but I leaped up and caught it with my left hand. I pivoted my foot around, facing my captors once again, and I inserted both my earplugs into the device.

All right, let’s get this show on the road!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another month, another chapter. I have finals and projects on the horizon, but hopefully I'll be able to pump out another one in May. Who else in Spotlight am I going to feature next time... Nishishi, that's a secret!  
> On another note, watch The Promised Neverland. Just do it. DO IT. Honestly my favorite anime, and it came out this year. Probably because of all the cliffhangers. I tend to like those.
> 
> Chapter Notes: Nagito is my favorite Danganronpa character, so naturally, I had a hard time deciding how I wanted to really convey him. I had to consider the dynamic of this world: set 16 yrs in the aftermath of the tragedy with quirks, superheroes, the Future Foundation, and the Justice League. How would Nagito work in a world like that? Let's be honest though, he isn't the type to sit around doing nothing.


	15. Detective Path: Game of Deduction

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: this chapter may be a bit darker than usual depending on how far your imagination will carry you. In my opinion, it still fits the T mold... but keep in mind anyhow.

**Shuichi**

**“** I’m going to check out the grave site over there. Kyoka, keep a lookout for any sound.” I gave the earlobe girl one last look before I tipped my hat forward and adjusted my red tie. I left the trio behind, confident in their skills to watch my back and alert me of any pressing news and moved onward to perhaps the most unique site at Neptune Heights.

Beneath a small clearing between the rich American pine trees was a brilliant stone canopy with a faint overlay of obsidian. It covered the tall gravestone and let the moonlight peer through its openings like stage spotlights. As I walked closer, bathing myself in the scent of blueberries, I noticed that the underneath of the canopy were the words “Spei Memoriam” carved in a Victorian font.

Hmm. Latin for “In Memory of Hope.” How fitting for the graveyard that hosted hundreds of Ultimates from Hope’s Peak Academy.

Even moreso fitting the gravesite of the Ultimate Hero: Nana Shimura.

She was an amazing symbol, perhaps the brightest graduate from Hope’s Peak Academy. She died the year I was born, in the midst of the chaos of the Tragedy, her death spiraled many to doubt the hero system for the horrendous two years of despair. Though… her death is still shrouded in mystery, I’ve dabbled here and there trying to figure it out, but it’s obviously hidden from record. Kyoko said that she couldn’t uncover what happened, but looking back at it, she was lying to me for some reason…

As for the linking between the grave robberies… What’s the reason? And why have they been avoiding Neptune Heights? Come to think about it… none of the deceased that they have stolen were Ultimates since this site was left untouched… A relation to Hope’s Peak perhaps?

I stared at Shimura’s grave for quite some time, contemplating. Perhaps it was a wrong estimate that the graverobber would appear here at all. The culprit has been avoiding them after all. But I was so sure… it was the most plausible that they’d be here next.

I sighed, “I better get back to the others. Nothing to see here. You’ve been getting rusty Shuichi…”

I turned around and bumped into a man, not even realizing that a presence loomed behind me. A similar build to myself, he had dirty blond hair and an eyepatch. He wore a slick, black cloak. He grinned at me. “Yup, you’re right about that, nothing to see here!”

I took several steps back, aligning myself to Shimura’s grave. “K-KYOKA! AARON! They’re here!!” I shouted. Why didn’t they radio me… they must of noticed…

It was then I realized there was another person there, standing to the side of the eye-patched man. He wore a white mask and a feathered top hat. His long, mustard yellow trench coat was buttoned up and his red gloves rested upon a cane.

The _Villain_ wiggled his finger, “Tsk, tsk. They can’t hear you one bit. Morrigan here has a special quirk to negate sound, and then amplify said sound whenever, however, and wherever he so chooses!” No wonder they snuck up on me.

The blond scowled, “Compress. You don’t say that. Idiot. _Especially_ to the likes of him.”

“It’s Mr. Compress to you! My, my, you’re such a slouch Morrigan. You must learn how to present a show!”

“Hmph, whatever. You’ve been tailing us for a while kid. We’ve grown sick of it. Oh, and forget about your friend over there. She’s, uh, indisposed.” He crossed his arms and tapped his foot impatiently.

This isn’t good. I didn’t take into account that the graverobber would have a quirk. “ _You always forget to take into consideration quirks!”_ Uncle Shinji has repeatedly told me in the past.

There wasn’t much I could do in a situation as intimidating as this. In my desperation, I ran up and punched the blond eyepatch man. Right in the face. He didn’t look too hurt unfortunately; rather, he scowled at me.

I threw another punch with my left hand, but he only caught my wrist and brought his knee into my gut, causing me to lose my breath.

Instinctively I activated my quirk, Freehands, and left my hand in his grasp. My weight was unbalanced, and I collapsed my back coughing up blood. I tried to get back up, but he kicked me back down.

“What the! His hand came off!” Morrigan exclaimed.

“It seems the detective has a quirk of his own.” Mr. Compress kneeled next to me, swinging his cane in a spiral motion.

“Huh… Well whatever. Compress, do your thing!” The black-coated villain turned around. “Oh. There you are Nagito! Find anything?”

Nagito..? No… But that’s-

“Sweet dreams… Ultimate Detective.” The last thing I saw was the masked magician’s red gloves outstretched towards me.

 

* * *

 

“Shuichi! Y-you alive?! I order you to wake up!” I jutted awake to the sound of Kokichi’s voice.

To the most-ghastly crime scene I have ever laid my eyes on as a detective.

The two of us sat across from each other at a poker table in a dark-lit room. So dark in fact we couldn’t see beyond the table itself. A single fanlight was above us, flickering. Seated next to us were three mutilated corpses on both sides of us, for a total of six from the various weapons that jutted out of them. There were also weapons that were on the table, the green padding still soaking up the fresh blood.

Most curious of all, to each corpse… and myself… was a balloon that floated above, attached to our wrists by loose strings. Each lime-green balloon had a symbol on it.

And worse yet, Kokichi and I were bound tight by metal contraptions that wrapped around our necks. Chain links extended from the shackles and were bolted firmly into the poker table, much like how a dog was bolted near his doghouse.

The smell of iron and rotting flesh hit me hard. I was gagging and doing my best to hold it in.

I tried to raise my left hand to my mouth, but I found out quickly that I was still missing it from using my quirk earlier with the villain Morrigan. I tried to feel around with it, to feel the sensation of my fingers wiggling, but I couldn’t. It felt like it was overwhelmingly numbed on something, and very stiff. My messenger bag was also not with me.

“Kokichi… What is happening?” I said with worry.

“Where the hell did you go?! As soon as you left ‘ _detectiving’_ , everything went wrong!! And here I thought you cared about us! A-aren’t we a team? You’re so mean! WAAAAAAH!” Of course, his fake tears came running.

“KOKICHI! For once in your life, would you take this seriously?! Look around us! This isn’t the time for your games-”

“YOU THINK I DON’T KNOW THAT?!!” He yelled at me. This time the tears kept coming down. And his cheeks were puffy red. “They have my sister, Shuichi. _My Sister!_ Kyoka… I knew she shouldn’t have come with us…”

“I… Kokichi… We’ll figure a way out of this.” I said.

“Yeah?! How do you expect to do that? You plan on leaving me like earlier?”

“No! I would never-”

“Sheesh! You’re so easy to tease Shuichi! Take a load off and just do your thing already!!” And he slipped back into his normal persona… or was it his mask?

Regardless, he was right about one thing. I am a detective after all. If anyone is capable of finding a way free, it’d be me. Fortunately, I still had my trusted cap with me.

Sliding my fingers from my right hand across the rim of the hat, I looked at Kokichi in the eye and said, “There’s deliberate clues here. We just have to find them.”

Investigation Start!

First things first… I needed to analyze the _Metal Neck Shackles_ that bound me to the table. I tugged and tugged but to no avail; there was no way I could pry myself free, let alone with just one hand. However… the chains gave me enough room to walk around the poker table and reach Kokichi. Almost as if it was intended for me to have access to everything here… Oh!

“…What is it? Why are you staring at me like that? What happened to finding clues, eh Shuichi?”

“I’m looking at your shackle to see if it’s the same as mine. Can you take a look at mine? I want to confirm something.” I tapped at the metal binding.

“Yup it’s around your neck alright. I can totally see you being my full-time servant! What do you say?” He said that gleefully while raising his fists in front of his chest.

I sighed. “Kokichi…”

“Whatevs! You’re right Shuichi. Your shackle has _3 Keyholes._ I’m guessing it’s the same for me?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

_3 Keyholes…_ Typically one would be enough to keep us trapped here… unless if they mean for us to find the keys to escape. Meaning we need a total _6 Keys!_

“Oh. That’s a pentagram!” Kokichi said suddenly.

“What?”

“C’mon detective, look up at that balloon dangling from your wrist! It has a pentagram on it!”

Sure enough, my green balloon had a _Five-Pointed Star_ drawn on the side of it. But why? And I wasn’t exempt. Each of the corpses also had _Balloons with Symbols._ There had to be a reason…

I looked to the first corpse that sat next to Kokichi’s original spot. This older man had _a Spear_ that impaled him through the heart and it also went through the chair. Other than that, I didn’t see any wounds. His lime green balloon had a star like me, a six-pointed star on it, or a hexagram. I’m used to calling it the _Star of David_ for my cases abroad. It has a lot of deep cultural meaning.

“Ooooh! What’s this button do?!” I turned my head sharply to see Kokichi place his finger above a blue rectangular button that seemed to jut out from his side of the poker table. Did I have something like that on my side?

“Wait, Kokichi-”

*PLING

“…Hey is this thing on? Cool... I’ve got a special message just for the two of you. Thanks for participating in my awesome game! I just love games, don’t you two?” It was a young girl’s voice that projected from unseen speakers in the poker table.

“Anyways, the wages are life and death. Obtain _3 keys_ , and one of you gets to leave! Get _6 keys_ , and you both get to progress to the next level… Huh? How… do you get these keys? I’m sure you see those balloons floating around, right? Well, there’s tooons of amazing _weapons_ here! _Pop each balloon with the specific item correlated to its symbol to obtain a key._ Well… that’s it!”

That’s… insane. Our lives our on the line… at a murder scene?!

“W-wait, wait, wait!! I almost forgot! Kokichi! Don’t even bother trying to lockpick the locks. My specialized shackles will shock you dead, Ultimate Supreme Leader! Uhh… okay! That’s it. For real this time!”

*PLING

I stood in silence. Annoyed. Scared. Frustrated. Just what gives her the right to play with our lives like that?!

Kokichi was also left stunned, and he was biting his finger. “…Damn her. I’ll teach her not to mess with me. Shuichi. Game plan. I’ll organize the weapons on the table, and you hand me the ones with the bodies. Think about which is best. You got that detective?”

I touched my cap, “Heh, no quip Kokichi? What happened to you?” It was like he was actually trying to be a leader.

He scowled, tightening his bandana, “I’m pissed… Well?! Can you do it Shuichi? We need to match the symbols with the weapons.”

“…Yeah. Leave it to me.”

Swallowing, I pulled the _Spear_ out from the first corpse, it made a sick crunching sound. I gave it to the purple haired leader. Who calmly placed it on the table.

I went to the next corpse, it seemed bruised and beaten in by something blunt. Much like the bloodied _Baseball Bat_ Kokichi was organizing on the table. But… it also had a _Future Foundation Pin_ that punctured what was left of the man’s rotting eyeball. I braced myself and took it out, placing it on the table.

This corpse’s balloon had _a Wave_ printed on it. This could mean a multiple of things, but it mostly ties into the ocean. So something related to the seas must be used.

“Damn it! DAMN IT!” Kokichi slammed his fist against the table.

“Whoa! Kokichi what’s wrong?”

“EVERYTHING! Are they trying to MOCK ME?! Look around you detective! What does remind you of? Where are we at?”

I was unsettled by his outburst. I’ve seen Kokichi in many… moods, but this by far has them all trumped. “It… reminds me of _a casino_.”

“Exactly!” In his palm he shows me a single die. Wait- “This die, this DICE is my insignia! MINE! And yet here they have one here!... It’s quite curious… AIN’T IT YOU BASTARDS?!”

“K-Kokichi! Settle down, okay? Here, let me look at that die.”

He scowled again, placing the die in my hand before turning his attention to a deck of cards. Well, well. It really is the same as _Kokichi’s Die_. 4 purple fives, 1 green two, and 1 red one. Although… there was a distinct difference: the edges were sharp. Enough to pop a balloon.

Hmmm, maybe it relates to the _Star of David_? That is a hexagram after all; six points! And a die has six sides! Though… the uniqueness of this particular die may have special meaning.

Moving on to the next body, the one that was adjacent to my seat, it had… is that a _Batarang_? It was jammed clean in the body’s bloodied forehead. I couldn’t believe I’d see the notorious tool of the grand, mysterious vigilante as a murder weapon.

But… there was more. Sticking straight through the neck was a mannequin’s _Skeletal Hand_ ; its arm bone sharpened on the other side to pierce clean through… Perhaps this was related to my balloon; the _pentagram_ has five points, and a hand has five fingers.

I gulped, and quickly removed the weapons from the body and gave them to Kokichi.

“…What a coincidence that you’d give me THE Batman’s _Batarang_. Bataroo? How the hell did they get that? I’ve been wanting one for aages!”

“Coincidence? How so?” I questioned.

He answered me by holding up a card between two fingers. It was a metal _Joker Card._ “Out of the whole deck, only this one has sharp edges.” He answered with a small grin, which still wasn’t as expressive as normal.

“Batman and Joker… what are they getting at?” I asked aloud.

“More importantly Shuichi… just who are we dealing with? This is grade A evil mastermind kind of stuff. I daresay I’d be impressed… if I didn’t want to wring their necks.”

“Y-yeah.” I muttered before I looked away.

Corpse three’s balloon, hmm. This one didn’t have a symbol, but rather a set of numbers. _11037._ Anyone educated in this era knows what that number means. It’s the number Sayaka Maizona spelled out to indicate her murderer. _11037_ is actually LEON upside down. Leon Kuwata was the Ultimate Baseball Player.

“Oh nice. That one’s easy! It has to be the _Baseball Bat_!” Kokichi said.

“No… it’s too soon to tell for sure. It could be the _Future Foundation Pin._ I’ve been told that _11037_ holds much symbolism there.”

“Wooow. You’re such a showoff Shuichi… You better be right. I don’t wanna know what happens if you’re wrong.” His glare was one that could kill.

“…Yeah. Neither do I.”

Halfway through the bodies, on to the next one. This… was a young girl. These sick monsters!! It looked like her neck was cut open. On her lap was a dagger, a simple knife… engraved in the blade was yet another symbol, a fish. This _Fish Dagger_ … why would that symbol be there? The two swerving lines are supposed to represent community and fellowship in the Christian religion, yet this was placed on a murder device… Does it have something to do with the _Star of David_? Though in hindsight, that symbol is both a Jewish and Christian symbol. Maybe the _Wave_ balloon? Could it really be as simple as a fish in the sea?

The young girl’s balloon had a _Crescent Moon_ for the symbol. Immediately the _Batarang_ came into to mind; the Dark Knight is known for working in the night. But it could also be… that. Kokichi placed the last weapon that was originally on the poker table with the others. It was a very curved sword, curved much like a crescent in fact. I believe its true name was a… _Khopesh_. Korekiyo showed me one in his collection. It has Egyptian roots.

The fifth corpse was cut apart from many slashes, no doubt from the _Khopesh._ This person seemed to receive the most agony among them all. There were also two other items of importance. The first of these was literal _Crown of Thorns_ jammed tightly into his head. I shook my head, sensing a theme here, and I wasn’t pleased in the slightest.

The other weapon was a _Shuriken_ lodged through his nose… Just what was wrong with these people?! These could also be called ninja stars, tools of the hidden shinobi of the night. So would it be attributed to the _Crescent_ balloon? Maybe it took a more literal sense, it was an actual star and there were two star balloons: my _Five-pointed Star_ and the _Star of David_. But this had four points…

Careful to not poke my myself, I removed the crown and the ninja star, and Kokichi sorted them in the growing pile on the poker table.

This poor soul’s balloon had a _Triangle_ on it. Or was it a _Pyramid_? One of the sides was shaded a bit heavier. The _Khopesh_ made the most sense, that was an Egyptian weapon, and the Egyptians were known for building the pyramids. But I was also noticing a pattern; it seemed everything was related to number of sorts and it had 3 sides to it.

“Hey Shuichi.” Kokichi sat on the table, tossing his new metal die up and down.

“Yes? What is it?”

“Join my organization.”

I sighed again, rubbing my forehead. “Really? Now Kokichi? You know I won’t do it.”

“You’d be perfect at it though. A real asset. You could go places there.” He was dead serious.

“Your confidence in me is truly inspiring,” I responded sarcastically. “That’s if your organization even exists in the first place!”

“It does.” That… was a quick response. And unlike him. He’s normally more mischievous than this. Although… there’s been more evidence today to support the existence of his supposed organization: whoever captured us knew Kokichi’s talent and recognized his symbol, his _Die_.

“Let’s just get out of here, alright?” I told him. He didn’t respond, but just looked at his fingers lost in thought.

The last corpse was skewered by a _Trident_. No sense in trying to figure how else she might have died; that was all that was needed. I yanked it out and placed the last weapon with the rest. It could relate to the _Wave_ balloon, as it is connected to Poseidon, the god of the sea.  But since it had three points it could also be used to pop the _Triangle_ balloon.

The last balloon had a Bat symbol on it, the same logo that donned Batman’s chest. There… were simply too many options that could be applied to this balloon. The _Batarang_? The _Joker Card_? Even the _Baseball Bat_ could be used to pop it!

“Well, oh great detective? What’s the situation?” Kokichi smiled evilly, and for the first time in a while, he showed his usual playful colors.

“…Yeah. I’ll reveal the truth.” It wasn’t looking good.

“As whoever holds us captive said, we need to pop the balloons with certain weapons in order to obtain keys. The balloon symbols are a _Five-pointed Star_ , _the Star of David_ , a _Wave_ , the number _11037_ , a _Crescent Moon_ , a _Triangle_ or a _Pyramid_ , and lastly a _Bat_.”

“There are numerous things that can be used to do so. Too numerous in fact. The simple truth is that each of those balloons can be popped by multiple weapons. We… don’t have any certain chance to escape. Without a code of some sort… there’s no way we could just-”

*POP

I jumped, startled by the noise. The balloon with the _Bat_ symbol was no more. And bouncing on the poker table was _Kokichi’s Die._

“KOKICHI! Are you insane?! For all we know-”

I stopped talking and saw a small compartment of the poker table open up and reveal a small iron key.

“I’ve been playing games like this for a long while now. It tests both _Deduction_ and _Luck._ ” Kokichi said whilst nabbing the key and unlocking one his.

He continued to speak, picking up the die and handing it to me. “Remember this? My DICE are special tools to measure one’s luck in this world.” He stuck his tongue at me. “Your _Luck_ is soooo average though. Unlike me, you’re simply not destined for greatness.”

“What does that have to do with-”

He stuck a finger to my lip, silencing me. “Shh, shh, shhh. I may have the _Luck_ , but you have the great _Deduction_ skills! So I’m trusting you to narrow down the options for me Shuichi!”

“L-let me get this straight. You want me to rely on your _Luck_ of all things to get us out of this mess?!” I said angrily.

“Hmm? Are you willing to trust me Shuichi?” He put rested his chin on his finger.

“…How did you know your dice would work on the _Bat_ symbol?” I asked looking at it.

He paused in contemplation, “…Use the A1Z26 cipher.”

The A1Z26 cipher? That simply replaces the letters with numbers. In the case of Kokichi’s die… If I replace the red 1 I’ll get the letter A since it’s the first letter of the alphabet. For the green 2, it’d be the letter B. There are four 5s, all of them purple. So it could be EEEE or… add up to 20 which would be T. So the letters are A, B, and T… or B A T: Bat.

“…Why’s does your die spell out Bat, Kokichi?” The dice might have been supplied by our kidnappers, but ultimately if was Kokichi’s original design.

“Hmph! You’d know the true meaning if you’d join me. Buut I guess you can say it’s to mock him!” he said, letting loose a chuckle.

“Your… uhh, logo is to mock Batman?”

“Yup! That sounds about right!”

“Why?”

“I’m the Ultimate Supreme Leader Shuichi! I’ve simply recognized Batman as the biggest threat to my operation.” He paused, hopping off the table and got up close to my face. “Although… you may hold the same potential one day. That’s why I want you on my side!”

I backed away. “I’m not interested in your organization Kokichi… But I’ll trust you for this game. So I’ll limit the choices and use my _Deduction...”_

“And I’ll pop the balloons, relying on my _Luck_.” Kokichi finished for me, spreading his arms to show the vast array of weapons on the table.

“Okay… let’s start with my balloon, the _Five-pointed Star_. There’s three that I can think of that apply.”

“The first is the _Shuriken_. It’s a star like my symbol. The second is the _Skeletal Hand_. My star is a pentagram, meaning it has five points, and the hand has five fingers. My symbol could also be taken to mean the Five Holy Wounds of Christ. If that interpretation applies, then the third would be the _Spear_ as that was the fifth wound given by the Roman soldier Longinus.”

“I thought you were detective, not a preaching priest Shuichi!” Kokichi said snarkily.

“…I know my stuff.”

Kokichi decided on the _Spear_ , and with a scary face thrust it above my head and popped my balloon. I think my life flashed before eyes for a second there. His _Luck_ came through, and the poker table revealed another key. Maybe Kokichi was onto something after all… if Nagito was at Neptune Heights, it wouldn’t be too far fetched to believe this escape game relied on luck to some degree…

“Nice choice!”

“I know. I’m the best!”

 “Okay. Now for the _Wave_ balloon, there’s only two that work. The _Fish Dagger_ may be the obvious stretch because fish come from the water sources like the sea, but it’s more likely to be the _Trident_ because it refers to-”

*POP

Kokichi interrupted me, poking with the Trident to pop it. Another key appeared.

“…Okaaay. On to the next one. Let’s look at the _Crescent_ balloon. The three options are the _Batarang_ , the _Shuriken_ , and the _Khopesh_. Both the batarang and the ninja stars are tools used by people who work in the night. The khopesh, on the other hand, has a similar shape to the symbol.”

Kokichi contemplated his options, his finger was at his lip. He took the _Batarang_ and threw it at the balloon, its green exterior exploding around.

…No key appeared.

“…Hehehe. Oops. Weeell I’m not like our principal anyhow. He has some serious luck!”

“Kokichi!”

“I KNOW! We only get one mistake right?! There’s still 3 balloons left. I’ll get them. I have to.” He’s right. Apparently, they were generous enough to give us one extra balloon compared to our six locks. Or maybe they didn’t intend for me to be alive…

“Just… do that then.” I sighed, “Okay, okay… The _Pyramid,_ or the _Triangle_ , has three choices as well. The first is the _Trident_. 3 points, 3 sides. The second is the _Khopesh_ ; that’s an ancient weapon favored by the Egyptians, Korekiyo mentioned that some were buried with the pharaohs. Lastly, is the _Skeletal Hand_. It’s a bit of a stretch, but the pyramids were built by the many hands of the people. Maybe that works?”

“I don’t think so Shuichi boy. The sickle seems the best bet.” And with that, he swung the _Khopesh,_ revealing another key. Good. This time I unlocked my last lock, I’m free! Kokichi still had two more to go though. He raised his eyebrow but grinned as he saw I was staying by his side.

“The hexagram, or the _Star of David,_ is next.” I tipped my hat forward. “This one has the most options of them all.”

“First is your _Die_. It has 6 sides to it. The _Shuriken_ for the obvious reason that it’s a star. Next is the _Khopesh_. Although it is an Egyptian weapon, the Israelites used it as well. The _Fish Dagger_ could work too; the symbol originated from that region as Christianity began to spread. Lastly is the _Crown of Thorns._ In Biblical text, Jesus was mocked with this crown, being called the king of the Jews, much like how David was once king.”

This time Kokichi paced back and forth before selecting the crown and popping it. Thankfully, another key appeared. He smiled gleefully, placing the crown on his head. He must’ve forgotten it had thorns on it, because he freaked out and I spent a good minute yanking the thing off his blood-matted purple head.

I groaned in disappointment to which he only said, “I regret nothing.”

One more balloon. One more key.

“The last one is the number _11037_.”

“Yeah, yeah we talked about that! It’s either the _Baseball Bat_ or the _Future Foundation Pin_ right?” Kokichi grabbed the bat and began to swing.

“WAIT! There’s another choice!” I yelled. Kokichi yelped and let go of the bat… right into my face.

“Owwww.”

“Aww suck it up detective.”

“I could just leave you here y’know.”

“Oh great and mightiful Shuichi! Have mercy on this poor excuse of a soul!” The sarcasm wasn’t appreciated.

Nevertheless, I wasn’t about to leave a classmate, even if was Kokichi. “It could be the _Fish Dagger_.” I told him.

“Wait, really? How so detective?”

“This particular fish is a sign of Christian community and fellowship. Originally there were 12 apostles, and Jesus told them they’d be “fishers of men”. I’m just following the trend with some of the other balloons… If you add the digits up from the numbers 11037, you’ll get the number 12.”

“You’re pretty churchy Shuichi.”

“Like I said, I know my stuff. And yet you wonder why I won’t join your _evil_ secret organization.”

“You will. I’m irresistible.” And with that, he slashed at the last balloon with the knife.

Revealing the last key.

The two of us were finally free from that wretched poker table.

*PLING

“Hey there Kokichi! Hi Shuichi! You guys actually did it! Hurray! Phew, phew, phew, pheeeeeew!! I’m live now by the way. Now for your neeeextt game…”

Lights turned on, illuminating the of rest of room which was much bigger than I originally thought. Chain saws littered the whole area like a maze. Spikes popped up and down. Rings of fire. Acid. We were sitting inside a whole death obstacle course and we didn’t even realize it.

This… there was no chance we’d survive that… even all that work with the balloons… Are we just going to die here?!

“Don’t you just love this new game? It’s like you’ve been sucked into Zelda!! Isn’t that cool? Doesn’t it just fill you with _Despair?_ Ooops. I said the D-word. Bwahahah! It’s true though. You’re both doomed to diiieee. After all it’s magggggggggggg What the Hell is PSssssssssssssk.”

*PLIN

*PLI

*PLIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNN         G

All the lights went out. And the noise from the various death traps stopped.

Kokichi and I stood back to back, not uttering a word. We couldn’t see a thing.

Until a red flare dropped to the floor. And I saw a black cape plunge down some feet away from us.

The figure approached the two of us, the red light complementing his red torso and yellow belt, but contrasting with his green mask and boots.

“Tt. You’re not supposed to be here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we go! A fun Shuichi filled chapter just for you. The plan is to get the next one out within a month. With summer approaching, my schedule may free up a bit more for writing.
> 
> Also 300 hits?! Wow! I'm honestly honored that so many people have taken an interest to even check it out!
> 
> Chapter Notes:  
> I made a diagram. And a graph. Detailing all of those balloons and weapons. Very fun stuff.  
> As for the villain Morrigan... time will tell who he is. Same with the mysterious girl from the *PLING radio.
> 
> EDIT: Hey sorry guys, hitting some writer's block. The next chapter's going slower than I would've liked. I'll be pushing it back about a month later (Early July). In the meantime, you can check out my second work I've been getting much more inspiration on: [I Woke Up As A Nobody](https://archiveofourown.org/works/18791935/chapters/44586364).


	16. Tri Path: Meaning of Death

**Aaron**

“So… you called a taxi for us, right? They sure are taking their time.” I asked the black ponytailed girl. Her name was Momo Yaoyorozu, and she was one of the four U.A. students who decided to tag along this ‘mission’ of ours.

“A taxi? No, no. That simply won’t do for the seven of us. I called a limousine to transport us over.” _A-a damn limo?!_

Shuichi gasped as he heard her. “Momo? I’m sure you don’t have to do that. We could do-”

“It’s fine Shuichi! It’s the least I could do since you helped me back in elementary. No one there seemed to care about finding a rich daughter’s pet alligator. You did though; it’s only natural that as a rising hero I help someone who helped me.” She interrupted. To anyone else the word ‘alligator’ would have stuck out. Not me. Nuh uh. I heard the word ‘rich’.

“Wait, do you two know each other?” the yellow-haired energetic guy questioned. Denki… Kaminari I think. “And how come he gets to use your first name?!”

She responded by smacking the back of his head. “T-that’s just how it is! We went to the same school is all!”

“Wow Yaoyorozu! You must know all the cool people! Even an Ultimate!” Wait, who said that? Oh yeah, the invisible girl. Toru Hagakure?

Shuichi hid under his hat. “I’m… really not that big of a deal guys.”

“Yeah! I mean look at me! He pales in comparison.” Kokichi said. Damn, this guy has an ego. Gonna have to chat with him later…

Kyoka Jiro wiggled her earlobes and smacked him. “Whatever bro. Hey, check it out. Our ride’s here.”

Sure enough, it is. Sleek, shiny, and ah, ever so beautiful. Last time I was in a limo it was for a heist at one of Gotham’s ball parties for the big wigs. The plan was thwarted; one of my grunts spilled it all to Nightwing who stopped us just in time. I’m glad he did that though; I got away and avoided a nasty encounter with a secret organization known as the Court of Owls. Turns out I was close to being recruited as one of their Talons.

“Help yourselves out with the beverages.” Yaoyorozu said.

Everyone was in awe. Well… I suppose just Kaminari and Hagakure. For some reason, the rest of us were used to a limousine already. It began to move, and we were well on our way to Neptune Heights, the site of our plan.

“This gonna be so cool! Hey! After we win, we’ll hang out all the time right?!” Kaminari said with his hands clenched, eyes sparkling. Gah, this kid shined so brightly it hurt my eyes. Kinda like, uh Booster Gold?

“Shouldn’t we, I don’t know, focus on getting used to U.A. first? Don’t we want to become heroes?” Kyoka said, wagging her finger.

“Well, duh! That’s what we’re doing tonight, right?”

Shuichi leaned forward from his seat, “Well there’s no guarantee they’ll be here tonight. It’s likely, but the culprit may come later. I don’t want to be a detriment to your studies. This… may be liable to get you all expelled.”

There was silence as we all sat awkwardly next to each other, unsure of what to say. Tension was built up as the realization hit the U.A. students just what exactly they signed up for; they were risking their heroic careers just so they could help a freelance detective with their work.

Luckily for them, I have experience breaking the law. And understanding loopholes and alibis.

“Well… that’s only if you all speak up. The credit will go to Shuichi and me. No one needs to hear about this.” I told them.

“But that’s not right!” Hagakure said, “We’ll be no different than vigilantes! No, even worse, what we’re doing is no different than what villains are doing!”

Kokichi began to laugh uncontrollably. “What’d I tell you Kyoka?! A bunch of goody-two-shoes! Bwahaha!”

“S-shut up Kokichi! I’m only doing this beca-”

“No! You’re wrong Hagukure!” I interrupted. “Just because we _might_ be breaking the law, doesn’t mean we’re villains! We’re nothing like them! I’ve seen _real villains_ before, and they genuinely don’t give a damn about people. Scarecrow, Joker, Riddler, hell, even last year Mister Bloom wrecked the city. I’m from Gotham, so I’ve seen Batman. He’s a vigilante, but I can’t ignore the good he’s done! He may ‘break’ the law all the time, but he’s definitely a hero!”

I’m not sure what got over me. These U.A. students were obviously bright. They wanted to be heroes, and they’re not evil by any stretch. I’m not letting them think they’re doing the wrong thing! They’re actually upstanding citizens!

…I think it’s because I want to desperately believe _I’m doing the right thing_. That despite being a thief, a street rat, I can aspire to use my skills and help out the world. I can do missions for the Future Foundation. I can help Batman out. I’m not a villain, and although I’m not a hero, there’s got to be hope for me.

They stared at me. “W-what? I’m completely right.”

“Yup, you totally are!” Kyoka grinned, “Wow, Aaron. I think I understand now.”

“A new transfer student to Hope’s Peak. With a secret talent…” Yaoyorozu muttered.

Hagakure continued the train of thought. “And he’s from Gotham!”

Kaminari gagged on his soda pop and pointed at me. “Y-you’re Robin!!”

“WHAT?!” Oh, come on, not this crap again! “No! I’m not _Robin!”_

“Yes you are.” Kyoka smirked. “The Ultimate Vigilante… has a nice ring to it!”

“SEE! I knew I’m not the only one!” Kokichi exclaimed. Damnit, you already know my talent! Don’t encourage them!

“Your hair color is the same as well.” Yaoyorozu added. _It’s actually dyed black._

“I just said I’m not him! C’mon, Shuichi back me up here!”

Shuichi shrugged and said, “Yes, you’re all right. Aaron Wolf is the Boy Wonder of Gotham.” _You traitor!_ The worse part is he’s technically not lying, people mix up the term ‘boy wonder’ and ‘boy thief’ all the time when referring to my alias as Kid Col.

Kaminari clapped his hands together, “Dude! This the best first day of school ever! I get to meet Ultimates and a real-life American hero! Sweeeet!”

I facepalmed, “Ugh, I why do I even bother at this point?”

Kyoka used her earlobe to take the cap off of one of the glass soda bottles. “It’s because you probably hate the atten-”

Kokichi slapped his hands on his knee. “That’s right! I have something for you dear sister!”

“Would you stop interrupt- whoa what’s this?” she exclaimed. It was a blueprint for some sort of device.

“Miu insisted on showing you her latest work. It’s not done, but those are the latest schematics. You owe me sister; after all, it’s only because of me that she’s making this stuff for you!” Kokichi proudly bragged.

“When did she start?” Shuichi probed.

Kokichi shook his hand nonchalantly. “She had a burst of creativity last night after the Ultimate Ceremony.”

“Of course she did.” Shuichi rolled his eyes.

I whistled. Leave it to an Ultimate to do that. Although haughty, Miu Iruma wasn’t joking when she described how good she was at her skillset. I may want to hit her up for some of my heists.

“MIU? As in _Miu Iruma?!_ Genius inventor for heroes all over?!” Hagakure was shaking Kyoka aggressively with hands we all could not see, “ _You’re sooo lucky!!”_

“Here, let me see that.” Yaoyorozu said, motioning for the blueprint from Jiro. “Hmm. Incredible. It’s complicated… but I may be able to make this.”

“Oh yeah! I forgot you could read blueprints Momo! OW! Sorry, I mean, _Yaoyorozu_.” Kaminari noted.

Shuichi leaned forward. “Make it? You mean with your Creation quirk right?”

“Indeed.”

I leaned back comfortably. “So? What’s it do?”

“Well according to the blueprints it-”

 

* * *

 

**Kyoka**

I wrapped the device around my wrist as I pointed it at the villains Nagito and Sayaka. It extended all the way to my elbow due to the three different canisters it held. This “wrist rocket” utilizes the soundwaves from my earplugs, and in turn, my heartbeat, to shoot various projectiles.

I smirked knowing full well that it was thanks to Yaoyorozu that I finally, _finally,_ had a weapon that expands upon my quirk. You. Are. A. Genius!

Oh, and you too Miu Iruma.

Currently, the wrist rocket was equipped for three types of ammunition: tranquilizer darts, flash bangs, and smoke bombs.

So, duh, I shot all three of them! We’re tiny, the size of action figures! I have to go all out or we lose and get squashed!

What’s great about this device is that it can fire consecutive shots really fast, uh, a total of seven at a time. I aimed them all the Sayaka Maizono copycat, who squealed in return. All the darts hit her arm, and then I used the flashbangs and smoke bombs near her and Nagito’s face.

Nagito held his arms up to cover his eyes. “Wha- SAYAKA!! Are you alright?!”

“T-they shot something at me. I can’t see and I feel r-really w-woozy. I think I’m fi-” She collapsed in front us, disappearing from our view on the desk onto the floor below.

I felt a strange sensation and saw Yayorozu nod at me and run forward. Everything was becoming smaller, wait no, _we were returning to our normal size!_

Yayorozu leaped over Sayaka and, the timing perfect, engaged Nagito in combat as she returned to her original form.

I didn’t do something quite as epic; instead, the once huge desk buckled and broke under my new weight, and I found myself prone next to an unconscious Sayaka. Now that I was close to her in a normal-sized perspective I realized she was much younger than me; she was actually a little girl. Weird.

I heard a bunch of fighting above me as I struggled to reload my wrist rocket. With little time, I focused on the tranquilizer darts and stood up, aiming at the former (?) Remnant of Despair.

…Who held Yaoyorozu in a headlock with a knife, no _her knife_ , to her throat.

 _“Let her go…”_ I growled at him.

Nagito looked at me, chuckling. “YES! I knew there was something special about you two!! Your hope… it’s _tantalizing!”_ Was his eyes… swirling?

“I SAID LET HER GO!” I screamed. He was walking away from me. Yaoyorozu was struggling, but it looked like she was losing consciousness.

“No. I don’t think I will. You see, Kyoka Jiro, if you fire that, I will kill her. Now I don’t want to do that, so please drop-”

I fired all seven shots him. It’s simple really. Due to my quirk, this wrist rocket shoots projectiles at a speed unrivaled to other blowdarts. And if seven rounds were enough to knock out Sayaka, who at the time was _much bigge_ r than us, the dosage now should be more than enough to knock him out immediately.

But as I fired, _inexplicably,_ he tripped over his own feet, shifting his weight so all the darts hit Yaoyorozu instead. Her eyes rolled up and she went slack in Nagito’s arms.

“N-no way…” I whispered in disbelief.

“Hehe. I knew it. Your hope will grow into something spectacular Kyoka Jiro. I believe a formal introduction is in order.” He raised the dagger up high ready to plunge into Yaoyorozu.

“No!” I ran forward, unplugging my earlobes from the wrist rocket. I wasn’t close enough! DAMN IT NO!

“My name is Nagito Komaeda. I have the Ultimate Luck.” I was right next to him, my earlobes wrapping around, as he threw the dagger down.

Blood splattered across my face as I tackled him to the floor. Yaoyorozu fell out of his grip and collapsed. The dagger clattered against the floor and red blood was seeping everywhere.

“NOOOOO!” I screamed. This can’t be happening, this can’t be happening, this can’t be-

I grabbed him by his trench coat and lifted him close to my face. “YOU MONSTER!”

His eyes were gleaming with madness as he cackled maniacally. “You see Kyoka? Now you have the despair you’ll fight to overcome. Don’t worry though, I’ll show you the way- What?”

His face was paling and he began gasping for air. “Oh… hehe. I see…”

“You really do have the Ultimate Luck. That wound should have been fatal. Instead, it’s barely even vital. Incredible.”

I released my hold on him and stood back up. There was another girl there, at the now open doorway, roughly my age with black combat gear all around. Her long, brown pigtails came out from her black beanie, and she held a silenced pistol in her hand. Her red eyes glistened with disappointment.

Nagito was laying on the floor, the blood coming out from _him_ as bullets were lodged into his body. Yaoyorozu… she was fine. She was fine! Thank goodness!

I went to her side trying to shake her awake. But those darts had way too much of a kick, and nothing seemed to work.

“Wow… to think… the Demon of Colgate would visit us… How wonderful…” Nagito said as he slid his body across the bedroom. He used his trench coat to wrap his wounds before he fell unconscious.

“Who are you?” I asked the girl. I didn’t even notice her enter the room! So silent!

She gave me one glance and began to leave the room. “Not even my target…” she muttered under her breath.

“W-wait! Don’t leave!” I interrupted. “You’re a secret agent, right?! We were kidnapped! I need help to-”

She stopped and didn’t even bother to face me. “Look here. I’m no babysitter. Figure it out.”

“Excuse me?!” She can’t be serious!

She sighed and glanced once more at me. “You heard me.” What the- my heart seemed to freeze in fear as her eyes glared at me like daggers.

But… her eyes widened as she looked over me, soaking in my characteristics. “The highlight in your hair…” she said quietly. Normally no one would be able heard that, but I did because of my quirk. Despite being like a deer in headlights, I pierced the ground with my earplug to gain an idea of my surrounding. She did say to ‘figure it out’, didn’t she?

“…Fine then. Follow me. And stay out of my way.”

I didn’t hear anything in the immediate vicinity, so I hoisted Yaoyorozu up on my shoulder. Damn girl, you heavy!

I gave one last look to the bedroom, now torn apart by the action of combat, and left Nagito and Sayaka to their sweet, sweet dreams. Psychos.

The secret agent girl, let’s call her Beanie, went winding down the hallway at a fast pace. Gee! You mind waiting for us?! Nope, instead I was left struggling with Yaoyorozu and trying to keep up. It was hard, but at least my quirk was able to help support her.

…Compared to the bright, girly room that probably belonged to Sayaka, the hallway we were in was dark, metallic, and spooky. What is this, a horror movie? Where all the main characters are kidnapped and- Nope, nope, nope, I’m not going down that train of thought.

Remember, you’re a hero Kyoka. Follow Beanie and save Yaoyorozu.

“So where are we going?” I asked Beanie as we turned right into another hallway. Into a group of goons. They all wore silly costumes and had various weapons.

As if they were villains- DID THAT JUST HAPPEN?!

In a flash, Beanie kicked off the wall and jumped over their heads. Spinning around she shot several shots with her pistol, immediately killing three of the six. As she landed she drew a dagger from her belt and stabbed another man through the neck, yanked it out, and threw it spinning at another guy who just noticed her before his demise. The last man yelled in horror and charged at her, but Beanie got low, dodging his fists and swept his legs out from under him. She proceeded to twist his neck fast…

…They- They’re dead? Just like that?! At first I was ecstatic to have Beanie come and save us, but now? I realized just dangerous she was, and wondered if I was really in any better situation.

I backed away slowly, still carrying my slack friend.

“Don’t leave.” She told me sternly, wiping blood from her chin.

“W-who are you?” I stammered out. Just like Sayaka before, I felt trapped. This person was way too deadly.

“…I’m an assassin.” She collected her weapon... and pocketed something with one of the corpses. “Now come on.”

I gulped. But my pride wouldn’t let me move. “I’m going to be a hero. I won’t let you get away with what you do.”

Again she glared at me with those red eyes. “Do you want to die?”

Oh God that’s terrifying. But I held my gaze, determined to hold my ground.

She sighed again, sheathing her blade. “Follow me. We’re getting out of here. Stay out of my way.” Now seeming pissed, she moved at an _even faster_ pace.

I really, _really_ didn’t care for her. But I followed her anyway, Yaoyorozu needs my help. And with one hesitant foot after another, I moved forward, struggling even harder to keep up.

 

* * *

 

**Shuichi**

The red flare flickered as the Boy Wonder approached the two of us, visibly annoyed. He was much shorter, and younger, than I anticipated. A green mask covered his eyes and a yellow utility belt secured the Japanese wakizashi blade that hung at his side. His black cape, accompanied with a hoodie, draped over his red torso. Immediately my mind began working theories to uncover his secret identity, as a force of habit.

“So. How’d you two end up here?” Robin said, glancing over me and then glaring at Kokichi.

I pitched in fast, my experience as a detective kicking in. “Villains abducted us, and most likely my friends. Aside from us two, there’s five more. There’s his younger sister, same hair color and with long earlobes, with a U.A. uniform.” I continued on, describing the physical characteristics of the members of Spotlight.

“I don’t what the villains want or if they have more captives. As far as I’m aware, no one should know we’re missing…” I finished.

“Sooo baaasically, it’s all up to you to save us all!” Kokichi added snarkily, before his face turned dark. “But if anything happens to my sister, make no mistake, I will make your life a living hell… Robin.”

Robin ignored him, his cape fluttered as he turned away from us. “Tt. Follow me. I’ll get us out of here. And don’t make threats you can’t follow up on, _Kokichi._ ”

This piqued my interest. “So, you’ve met him before?” I asked my classmate while following the vigilante. He moved around the deactivated traps with ease, revealing a path that made it easy even for us to navigate.

“Robin maaay have thwarted some of my plans in the past. Not that I hold a grudge or anything. Let bygones be bygones as they say. I don’t care. Really, I don’t. Why should I be mad about his involvement? It’s not like he’s in my way or anything. I’m fine. I’m fine. See, Shuichi? I. Am. Fine. With. Him. Saving. Me. It’s okay. Really! I’m okay. I’M OKAY!” Kokichi’s eyes flared in obvious frustration as his knuckles grew white from him gripping his fist too tight.

“…Focus Kokichi. We need to be worried about the others. We’re fortunate he’s here at all. I don’t understand your gripes, but… focus.” I said as we exited the large, dark room. We found ourselves in a similar, barely lit, metallic hallway.

Kokichi turned his head away from me, saying nothing.

Robin looked back at us. “You’re going to need to stay with me. As much as I’d rather not…” He glowered at Kokichi, “I’m going secure you two safely in the bridge.”

“The… bridge? We’re on a ship?” I asked.

“Tt. _Obviously_. Now hurry. There’s plenty of villains around.”

I was still on edge, but I graciously accepted his advice, and kept a close distance, with Kokichi just behind me. A couple of turns and I saw a window that showed the outside. As Robin stated, we’re on a ship. Seemingly, it was in the middle of the ocean.

How long was I out? How did the Villains subdue me?

Are they and the graverobbers the same?

If so, then what is their goal?

Why kill those people at the poker table?

Why stick Kokichi and I through some sort of trial?

No matter what way I put this… my predicament gives me the same chills I got when I first watched the killing game of Class 74, the one in which my principal turned the tide of the war of Hope vs Despair. It was censored, of course, but my middle school’s history curriculum made it so every resident would see it, so that we won’t repeat the mistakes of the past.

Interrupting my quick inner monologue, and the questions that lingered within, was Robin stopping suddenly, his boots grinding to a stop. He raised his hand in the same motion and then put a finger to his lips, to silence us.

I nodded in compliance, and Kokichi rolled his eyes. We both stood back, away from the T-fork of the hallway that continued forward, and to the left.

Robin went to the side of the wall in cover, holding two shurikens between his fingers. They were the same type of shurikens from the balloon game…

Robin peered around the corner and lowered his ninja stars. With a short nod of his head, he beckoned us to follow him.

Again, for the second time today, I witnessed the bloodbath of a crime scene. The three of us approached the _fresh_ corpses of several men, costumes coated with the metallic stench of their blood.

“T-That’s…”

“Wooow. More dead bodies! Who would’ve thunk?” Kokichi… have some tack.

“Keep sharp.”

“Yeah,” I responded, “Let me have a quick look. I’ll figure out what’s happened.”

“Tt. Do what you want to… Let’s see if you can hold a candle to Batman, ‘Ultimate Detective’.” Robin smirked back, giving way his faint interest. _Ah, so he did recognize me after all._

Investigation Start!

They all seemed to wear various _Costumes_ accompanied by deadly looking and mishap _Weapons_ , such as guns, clubs, and even an axe.

They were most certainly not heroes but rather, “They were _Villains._ ”

Kokichi snorted, “Way to state the obvious Shuichi.”

“Give me a second, will you?!” I retorted. A moment of lost composure on my part. I get annoyed when people talk ill of my talent, especially during the beginning of the investigations, when I ‘state the obvious’. It is the obvious that can be the most central in deducing what really happens. You start simple and vague, and then _deduct_ your way down to the truth. Or you can miss the whole picture.

“Alright, where was I?”

In total, _6 Bodies_ littered the hallway. Counting quickly, knowing I was pressed for time, I analyzed the wounds that led to each of their deaths.

3 died from _Gun-wounds,_ all in fatal locations. One man was shot in the head, another received two that punctured his lung and neck, and the last was shot through the heart.

Two men died of major blood loss, likely from what appeared to be _Stab-wounds_ by some sort of dagger. What’s interesting is that the first man died along the men with the bullet wounds, but the other man, by his lonesome, was farther away.

The last man died from a _Neck-wound._ Although no outer injuries showed, his neck was twisted in shape that simply shouldn’t be.

Robin crossed his arms. “Tell me what happened.” _He gave me so little time!_

“…These men appeared to be killed by a single individual. A _skilled_ individual. Probably… an operative, or an assassin of some sort!” I noticed briefly the faint flinch in Robin’s demeanor as I stated the word assassin.

“Anyhow, that’s the jist of it. Though under normal… and safer circumstances I’d search for longer than a couple of glances. Maybe search the blood patterns more, look at their belongings… like what Kokichi’s doing now?” I stated a bit surprised.

Kokichi found a small piece of paper from one of the pockets of the dead men and unrolled it. He glared at it for one moment, before sprinting away down the hallway, his note fluttering down to the ground.

“Tt! Where are you going! Are you stupid?!” Robin exclaimed, chasing after him.

I instead, picked up the note, to see what Kokichi was so worked up about.

9  8-1-22-5  25-15-21-18  19-9-19-20-5-18

3-15-13-5  20-15  20-8-5  2-18-9-4-7-5

…What? It was just a set of numbers.

Wait… No… Knowing Kokichi… it must be a code he’s able to decipher quickly. _“…Use the A1Z26 cipher.”_ He said that back in the balloon game.

So I’ll have to try that. It’d take much longer than B A T, but I’ll be able to figure it out.

Minutes later, I revealed the message… and it gave unsettling implications.

I have your sister,

Come to the bridge.

The first of these being the word “I”. It reveals that a _single person_ has “your sister”, implying that it wasn’t the villains who wrote the message, but that it was deliberately placed… likely by the same person who killed all these men.

More importantly, they have Kyoka with them; no wonder Kokichi rushed away, it’s his sister!

The third being that they wrote it specifically for Kokichi’s eyes, since they used the A1Z26 cipher, and they demanded they want him to come to the bridge of the ship.

So… why would a skilled killer give specifically Kokichi a note telling him to meet in a specific location? Why would they be here in the first place?

Damn it, Shuichi! Isn’t it simple?! Kokichi’s the Ultimate Supreme Leader of an _underground “evil” organization!_ Someone put a hit on him, and they tracked him down to this ship! And they’re using the note as a lure to assassinate him in the bridge! And perhaps Kyoka as a hostage!

No, no, no! Am I too late? Robin’s there with him, surely he’ll be fine! Right?!

I rushed farther down the hallway, not sure exactly where I should be going, but I noticed a body here and there of some dead villains outlying the path I should follow. There weren’t as many as my first encounter… but certainly just enough to gather my bearings of where I should go.

I’ve always kept my cool in dangerous situations; sometimes detectives find themselves researching a case that leads them straight into the jaws of uncertainty.

But this… this was completely different than anything I’ve faced before. I was rushing through dark corridors, going up stairs, and facing the cold air of the sea as I aimed to intervene with an assassin plotting to kill my fellow classmate. I was on what seemed to be a large freighter in the middle of the ocean that was also filled to the brim with villains and their deadly, mysterious goals. With me I had nothing but my trusted hat, dirtied school uniform, and a missing left hand.

My deduction tells me I’m woefully unprepared.

Cold, shivering, and uneasy, I found myself in front of the ice-covered, thick metal door to the bridge.

It was already open, and before me I saw a clashing of red and black; the two figures dancing with a barrage of knives and parrying that was so fast and precise my eyes couldn’t keep up.

Until they locked blades, leering straight at each other.

One was Robin, his cape flowing around him from agility he just had; his grip on his wakizashi sword tight.

The other figure… no… _it can’t be!_

She had on a black bullet proof vest accompanied by black long sleeves and combat boots tucked over her dark jeans. But… unmistakably beneath her ebony beanie was her signature long, chocolate hair and red eyes that pierced through anything they looked at.

Taking a small step forward I exclaimed her true name, “M-Maki?!” _She’s the assassin?!_

Wait… her talent was a secret to us all… so she probably isn’t just any assassin… She’s the _Ultimate Assassin!_

She turned her head in surprise, “Shuichi?! No! Stay out of my-”

Robin used her brief hesitation to swivel his elbow to her head, knocking her off balance. He leaped up in the air and kicked the weapons out of her hands. Following through, he used his weight to tackle her to the ground, pinning his blade against her.

As quick as the exchange went, so it did it when it ended. The fight was over.

Robin was gasping for air, “Heh… not bad. Although, I’ve been trained by the best, _assassin._ Nothing you do can compare to _him._ ”

Maki struggled for a second, and then relaxed knowing she was truly immobilized. Her eyes gleaned with an annoyance and hatred that looked familiar, but burned with a degree of much more intensity than I’ve ever seen before.

In the room around them, I finally noticed the layout of the bridge, as well as the others who were in the room. A dead man was on the floor next the helm.

In the corner was Kokichi, kneeling next his sister Kyoka who was unconscious. Momo Yaoyorozu was also leaning against her, unawake.

I walked over to them fast. “Thank goodness you’re all okay!” I exclaimed to Kokichi.

I continued on, “I-I don’t get… Maki. She’s the one who wrote you this note right?! Kokichi! It was a trap! She was trying to _kill you!_ ”

He stayed silent, his face grim and blank as he stared at his sister.

I got up, and walked back to where Robin pinned Maki down, pointing aggressively at her. “How could you?! _HOW COULD YOU?!_ Maki… I thought…”

“Don’t talk as if you know me, Shuichi.” She stated coldly.

“Y-you’re right. I _really don’t,_ do I?” I shook my head, my hand instinctively reaching towards my hat for comfort. “Regardless, that’s _our classmate._ It’s Kokichi! How could you… even if you’re… well… an _assassin._ We’re Hope’s Peak, Maki! _Hope’s Peak!_ How can we be Ultimates if we’re-”

“Shuichi! Her hand!” Robin said suddenly as he began to struggle to keep her locked into place.

In her hand was a pistol coming out of her holster, equipped with a silencer.

I stopped speaking and kicked it out of her grip, the gun skidding across the iron floor.

Silence filled the air. I was shocked.

Before me was a girl, someone I knew, _hoped to become friends with._ How… How could I read people _so wrong?_ First Aaron, and now Maki? I’m a detective! But can I really call myself the _Ultimate_ Detective if I can’t look past the masks, the lies people create? If I can’t be bothered to dig a little deeper with the people around me… how can I-

A puff of red dust and liquid exploded in the air.

Robin collapsed to the side, his knees a bloody spectacle, and he howled in pain. Maki disarmed his wakizashi, taking it for her own, and reversed the position they were in, now poised to kill Robin at any time.

“W-what?!” I exclaimed dumbfounded.

“Don’t. Not yet. I want to _savor this._ ” Kokichi lowered the silenced pistol, his face full of glee and… superiority. “Prop him up.”

Maki kicked Robin, forcing him up _on his injured knees,_ subduing his arms in the process.

“Kokichi! Maki! What is the meaning of this?!” I took a step back as Kokichi held the pistol up casually, his smile contorting into a viscous concoction of victory.

“Oh Shuichi, Shuichi. This,” He pointed the gun at Robin, “Is simply the _real reason I tagged along!_ I wanted to personally be there to see the corpse of the Boy Wonder. _I’m_ not the target. No, no. It’s _him_. You see, _I_ _knew_ he’d be here! So I figured it best be time to eliminate him. And Maki Roll here gets to help me with that! Nifty right? Isn’t she the best?!”

“Tt. So that was your big plan?” Robin said before he gasped in pain. “K-Kokichi… you… idiot, huff, you don’t want… to do this…”

“Oh, no. You’re wrong. _I really want to do this._ ” Kokichi pressed the chamber against Robin’s forehead. The Supreme Leader’s smile dropped, “Your death would bring me ever so closer to overthrowing Batman and his so-called Justice League. I won’t stop until I have what’s _mine_. No room for three. Just. One. Spot. For. Me. Yes… _I’ll rule everything._ ”

Again. _Again_ I have been blindsided by someone I know. And with Kokichi I _should’ve known better._ But the craziness of the villains, the games, the kidnapping…

“K-Kokichi! Please! Don’t do this!” I begged. “Are you forgetting where we are? This isn’t the type of situation for your bullshit! Goodness, _your sister_ is right there! Think for once!”

“You’re right. I almost lost her. But now that she’s back… _the least_ I can do is accomplish what I set out to do here. I’m not going to make. Another. Mistake.”

“You think you can rule everything, Kokichi? Tt.” Robin spat out more blood. “Listen here and closely you clown! You’re scum, the lowest of low. _You don’t have what it takes._ ”

Kokichi hit him across with the long barrel of the silencer, giving Robin a heavy bruise. The Boy Wonder was losing a lot of blood. And I couldn’t do anything but watch… My only weapons were my words and wit.

“And you expect me to spare him, huh Shuichi? You think the world is all fun and sunshine? That I’m just some lonely jokester? You silly, awful detective.” Kokichi made a tsk tsk sound.  “I’m _the_ Supreme Leader. And you are just my pawn. _You_ helped me do this. _You_ set the stage for his death. So I’ll do you justice and finish this miserable, pitiful-”

“You’re wrong.” I declared. “You _are_ a trickster! A playful, lonely kid who’s in over his head! But I know there’s more than that. We’re classmates, all of us are Ultimates! We’re students of Hope’s Peak Academy! You, me, Maki… Damian.”

Damian’s mask widened as the white showing grew. Maki narrowed her eyes; the blade against the vigilante’s torso. Kokichi stayed silent, his grip on the gun firm. So… my theory was right. Damian and Robin’s physique are identical, not to mention he is the only other student from Gotham in Hope’s Peak aside from Aaron. I only met him once in the hallways... but that was enough.

“I don’t know what your grudge is against Robin, or even Wayne Enterprises, but please, _please…_ Don’t give up on us. On the school. Ever since day 1, for the past year… you and Maki distanced yourselves. Don’t diminish the fact that we’re _here for you!_ We shouldn’t kill one of our own! Give him a chance. I have hope that you’ll overcome whatever’s between you. _He’s an Ultimate too._ We’re a joint effort. We shape the future.”

I paused. And spoke softly. “Don’t give up on that. We’re better than these villains.”

Kokichi lowered the pistol. “Ya’know… for a detective… you’re really bad at knowing the truth. And here I thought I was the one who lived in lies.” He chuckled, his smile growing wide and disturbing. “Enough. Goodbyyyye Damian. It was nice knowing you.”

He raised the pistol again, his finger beginning to pull the trigger.

“NO! KOKICHI!” I yelled.

It didn’t fire. The gun clattered against the ground, and so did the wakizashi Maki held. Both of them fell to the floor, slumped over as darts with a deep blue liquid were pouring into them.

 

* * *

 

**Kyoka**

That wasn’t real. That couldn’t have been real! Kokichi didn’t try to kill someone! It’s an illusion right?! It’s gotta be!

I lowered my wrist rocket and approached the others, stepping away from Yaoyorozu. My movements were slow and steady, as if I was in some sort of weird trance. Shuichi looked at me, and then he collapsed on his knees, gagging in both relief and panic.

I stopped in front of my dear brother, who looked so… alien to me. His smile was still engraved on his face...

Robin rolled over to a position where his knees weren’t in pure agony. He withdrew a shuriken from his belt and began dislodging the bullets. He winced in pain, but I think he bit his tongue so he wouldn’t make any noise.

… I knew something was off as soon as I woke back up! I didn’t even notice it happen. Beanie girl knocked me out as soon as I reached the bridge of this stupid ship!

When I woke up… Kokichi was muttering nonsense, and… and…

I hugged my arms close to my chest, and I began to whimper and cry. My flowing tears obscured my vision.

Damnit! His eyes! _His eyes were swirling!_ It was just like _Nagito_ when he almost killed Yaoyorozu! The exact. Same. Thing! I couldn’t just let him kill… My _brother_ was going to _murder_ another person!

I felt someone put their hand on my shoulder.

“S-Shuichi…”

“You were really brave Kyoka… thanks.” He said even as he was still shaking.

“W-what… What are we going to do?” I asked, quivering. _This is so messed up._

Robin, who wasn’t actually Aaron _,_  cut his cape apart and used it as makeshift bandages for the serious injuries he had. “Simple. We call for back up.”

He pulled out a plain, but black radio.

“…Tt.”

Shuichi released his hand, leaving it on me so I was still comforted, and turned to Robin. “What’s wrong?”

Wait _what?_ His hand isn't attached to his body. It’s still on my shoulder!

The Boy Wonder shook his head, frustrated. “Radio’s busted.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hoo boy that was... sorry for the delay, but man, that chapter in particular... I needed the extra time. (At least it's earlier than July). As for the next one, it'll a Thief Path Chapter. If you haven't noticed... I've yet to reveal what's happening with Aaron since the kidnapping. So the goal is around the end of July for the next one. Stay tuned my faithful readers!
> 
> Chapter Notes: I've had this planned for a long, long time. Kokichi's real motivations, Maki's involvement, Shuichi learning the truth... Are you noticing what kind of detective he is? Shuichi is good at crime scenes, at putting the pieces together with physical evidence. But... Hope's Peak Academy is a school where you develop your talents even further, and there are big areas where he has room for growth.
> 
> Again, thanks for reading! If you made it this far, please, feel free to comment and discuss what I've written!


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